South Wales Valleys
Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (Welsh: Y Cymoedd), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.
[4] The population of the Valleys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was disproportionately young and male; many of them were migrants drawn from other parts of Wales or from further afield.
[4] Merthyr Tydfil, at the northern end of the Taff valley, became Wales's largest town thanks to its growing ironworks at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa.
There was a sense of salvation when the government announced the nationalisation of British coalmines in 1947; but the following decades saw a continual reduction in the output from the Welsh mines.
The decline in the mining of coal after World War II was a country-wide issue, but South Wales was more severely affected than other areas of Britain.
In addition exports to other areas of Europe, traditionally France, Italy and the Low Countries, experienced a massive decline: from 33%[of what?]
[8] The Welsh mines were comparatively antiquated, with methods of ventilation, coal-preparation and power supply all of a decades-earlier standard.
A mine waste tip on the top of the mountain, which had been developed over a spring,[11] slid down the valley side and destroyed the village junior school, killing 144 people, 116 of them children.
This strike, and its ultimate failure, led to the virtual destruction of the UK's coal industry over the next decade, although arguably costs of extraction and geological difficulties would have had the same result, perhaps a little later.
Though the rail network into Cardiff is extensive, train times and frequencies beyond Caerphilly and Pontypridd impede the development of a significant commuter market to city centre jobs.
[17] A report for the Welsh Government concluded that the Valleys is "a distressed area unique in Great Britain for the depth and concentration of its problems".
[17] However, the area does benefit from a local landscape described as "stunning", improving road links such as the upgraded A465, and public investment in regeneration initiatives.
The metro will consist of route electrification, new Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles trains manufactured at Llanwern for use in 2023, new stations, more frequent services, and faster journey times across most valleys.
[citation needed] The A470 from Cardiff is, as far as its junction with the A465 Heads of the Valleys road, a dual-carriageway providing direct access to Taff's Well, Pontypridd, Abercynon and Merthyr Tydfil.
Stagecoach in South Wales provides bus services linking many towns and villages directly to Cardiff city centre.
