In August 2008 Trish Law, Assembly Member for Blaenau Gwent, said she had received "many complaints of standing-room only and grossly overcrowded trains".

Arriva Trains Wales provided extra carriages at busy times, Saturdays and holidays, to cope with the demand.

[16][17] The line has its origins in the tramways and waggonways constructed to serve the various iron works in the upper Ebbw Valley to enable them to receive raw materials and dispatch products.

The final freight service to run from the Corus steelworks in Ebbw Vale in 2003 removed scrap metal from site.

[26][27][28][29] Peter Law, the former Assembly Member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent, had been calling for passenger services between Ebbw Vale and Newport to resume on the line since the 1980s, while he was still a councillor.

[30] An initial feasibility study of the proposal was carried out for Blaenau Gwent council by infrastructure project management company Capita Symonds in 1998.

[27] First Minister Rhodri Morgan announced to the Welsh Assembly on 30 January 2002 that the rail link between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff would be reopened.

The display included artists' impressions of the six new stations, envisaged to be built at Ebbw Vale Parkway Victoria, Llanhilleth, Newbridge, Crosskeys, Risca and Rogerstone.

[36] Proposed stations at Crumlin and Ebbw Vale Centre were shown in the Rail Atlas Great Britain and Ireland 11th edition, published 2007.

The scheme was part of the response to the closure of Corus' Ebbw Vale steelworks in 2002, and the resulting economic downturn in one of Wales' most deprived areas.

A start of main works event was held in Crumlin on 28 September 2006 and was attended by Welsh Assembly Members Andrew Davies (then Welsh Assembly Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks), Irene James and Trish Law, the leaders of Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly County Borough Councils, local councillors, officers and project stakeholders.

[42][43] By January 2010, the total project cost, including the line extension to Ebbw Vale Town, had risen to an estimated £32.6 million.

[40] The railway had been shortlisted in the community benefit category, along with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' Newport Wetlands Reserve and Swansea's Canolfan Gorseinon Centre.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones opened the line along with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council's former Labour leader Hedley McCarthy.

The first train from Ebbw Vale Parkway was waved off by local residents, who welcomed the link as a positive contribution to the valley's long term regeneration.

Arrangements included school choirs, brass bands, and plaques unveiled at each station by officials and dignitaries travelling the route between Rogerstone to Ebbw Vale.

The ceremonies were cancelled two days before the scheduled reopening, as the project had not been finished on time due to "safety and engineering issues".

[49][50] After a final inspection on 16 December 2007 confirmed outstanding issues had been resolved, the track was handed over to Network Rail by Blaenau Gwent council.

Colonies of slowworms, which have protected species status in the United Kingdom, were discovered near the tracks at the sites of Llanhilleth and Crosskeys stations.

[54] A feasibility study and further design work for a new station at Ebbw Vale Town was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The station on the former Corus steelworks site, which closed in 2002, is a mile north of the line's initial terminus, Ebbw Vale Parkway, and was forecast to cost £6.5 million.

[60] From Ebbw Vale Parkway the line is single track, facing south-southeast for the 5 miles (8 km) to the next stop at Llanhilleth.

[63] To enable the additional service between Ebbw Vale and Newport to begin dual track would need to be laid and second platforms constructed at Llanhilleth and Newbridge stations, allowing trains to pass each other.

[64] The line to Crosskeys, 3+1⁄4 miles (5.2 km) south of Newbridge, passes the village of Abercarn, another site that had proposals for a station included in an early plan.

The other section meets the main line at the south-facing Ebbw Junction and allows trains to reach Cardiff Central station, 10 miles (16 km) to the southwest.

A South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) report in 2006 noted that additional infrastructure work would be required to enable the service to become half-hourly (one train running to Cardiff and another to Newport).

[71] The Welsh Assembly Government announced in July 2009 that the relevant works to enable direct trains between Ebbw Vale and Newport would be complete by 2011.

The proposal for a new station and track (which would need to be re-laid for 1+3⁄4 miles (3 km) between Aberbeeg and Abertillery), is not included in the Welsh Assembly Government's National Transport Plan.

The new structure, made of concrete and steel, cost £5 million and will allow for two tracks in preparation for future doubling of the line and increases in service.