[5] However, due to the Panic of 1847, works were abandoned prompting disgruntled shareholders to enforce the "Cardwell Clause" in the Act which prevented the distribution of company profits as dividends until such time as the line had been completed.
[5] Works restarted in 1851, with the contract for the ballasting and laying of the track from Pontypool to The Marshes Foundry at Newport awarded to the contractors Giles and Morgan for £2,935.
[6] Regular services on the line commenced on 1 July 1852 and consisted of three passenger trains each way at 7.00am, 12.00pm and 4.00pm from Newport, and 10.00am, 2.00pm and 6.00pm for the return journey.
[8] This required the construction of a wooden viaduct to carry the line over The Marshes, as well as the diversion of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal at the Dos Foundry.
[8] A new station was opened a quarter of a mile to the south at Newport Mill Street on 9 March 1853, allowing for the closure of the temporary Marshes Turnpike Gate.