The Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company was built to provide access to Barry Docks from collieries in the Llynfi, Garw and Ogmore valleys.

Passenger trains were discontinued from 13 June 1964 with signalling alterations made on 15 June as the line continued to be used for freight and occasional main line diversions but the section between Cowbridge Road Junction (Bridgend) and Coity yard north of Bridgend, was taken out of use on that date.

On 10 June 2005, a passenger train service was reinstated, serving Rhoose for Cardiff Airport and Llantwit Major only.

The area known as the Vale of Glamorgan, the tract of land close to the north bank of the Bristol Channel between Cardiff and Ogmore-by-Sea was largely agricultural in the early nineteenth century, and it became by-passed when the South Wales Railway built its main line between Cardiff and Swansea.

However the prospective company needed substantial Great Western Railway support and this was not forthcoming, so that the scheme eventually foundered.

[1] At Cardiff the volume of minerals transported increased beyond expectation, and quickly overwhelmed the capacity of the dock installations to handle them.

Like other coal owners in the Llynfi, Garw and Ogmore Valleys, his company used Porthcawl to load to shipping, but the harbour there had very limited capacity.

The alternative was over the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway and to Barry via Peterston and the spur to Drope Junction, or of course to Penarth or Cardiff.

[1] At the same time as North was establishing his company, he and others engaged in the trade met together and decided that the solution was a new railway to the Barry.

Authorised capital was £360,000; it was to build from a junction at Coity Lower on the Llynvi & Ogmore line, a little north of Bridgend, to Barry, a distance of 21 miles (34 km); in addition there was to be a branch to the Great Western Railway station at Bridgend, and running powers into the station were included.

However the VoGR company found it difficult to raise the capital it needed to build its line: by 15 July 1890 less than half, at £171,000, had been subscribed for.

[1] Time went by without further progress, until on 2 December 1892 the VoGR directors met the Barry Railway Board again to discuss a way forward.

The Barry Railway was anxious to secure its western flank against the rival, and keeping the VoGR scheme alive was strategically important.

[5][1] Incidentally, running powers had been sought to Tondu in the authorising act but this had been refused, obliging the company to exchange mineral traffic at Coity Junction.

By 7 June the decision was made to construct in double track throughout the line, in view of the heavy mineral traffic expected to be running.

10 of Porthkerry Viaduct, near the Barry end, subsided by several feet on 18 August 1896; it was followed by a major settlement of pier no.

He expressed himself very dubious of the stability of Porthkerry Viaduct, but he permitted the operation of passenger trains for a period of three months, subject to further appraisal then.

Watchmen were to be posted around the clock, and to examine the viaduct over and under after the passage of every train; special signals were provided so that they could stop traffic if necessary.

[1] The expenditure in building the line was "close on £700,000" according to the Barry Railway General Manager, Edward Lake.

[7] The Great Western Railway had long been the monopoly carrier of traffic by rail from South Wales to London, and dissatisfaction with the GWR had been a continuing issue for many.

"[3] This motivated to GWR to build its long-planned South Wales Direct Line, from Wootton Bassett to Patchway via Badminton.

[1][9][10] The construction of the Vale of Glamorgan Railway had been made more difficult by the existence of limestone ground conditions that were prevalent in the area.

Lime works were opened later at a number of points along the line, and large scale industrial portland cement operations were started at Rhoose in 1911 and at Aberthaw in 1913, initially by different companies but later to become Aberthaw & Bristol Channel Portland Cement Company Limited.

The branch was fully commissioned on 23 July 1961 to later become a 'merry-go-round' system, making it almost 3 miles (5 km) long, including the site loop mileage.

In March 2022, Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) group of local authorities had "bought the site of Wales' last coal-fired power station for £8 million.

At present (2022) the line carries a weekday hourly and two-hourly Sundays passenger service from Bridgend to Barry, continuing to Aberdare of Merthyr generally.

Their tender was unsuccessful, and there was some friction with the Council over the removal of artefacts belonging to the former Butetown Historic Railway Society.

The Butetown group was forced to leave the Barry Island line at the end of December 2008, resulting in the sale of and disposal of various assets.