Created 17-Jan-20
Modified 8-Mar-24
This new service came out of the Market Analysis Project service revisions of 24th May 1981. Whilst it ran as a normal local service from Porth to Maerdy and the timetable was synchronised with, initially, the 332 and 531 services to give a fifteen minute frequency on that section. From Porth it became limited stop and once it left Pontypridd it ran non-stop on the A470(T) until it reached the outskirts of Cardiff. It gave a worthwhile time saving between Pontypridd and Cardiff with a journey time of twenty-five minutes instead of the forty-five taken by the 332.
From 24th July 1983 the stops in Trehafod were withdrawn in readiness for the opening of the new by-pass, which route it took when the road opened later that year. An unusual feature for some time was an afternoon journey that started at Maerdy Infants School and ran via Tan-y-Bryn on schooldays, along with a local journey within Maerdy to the school in the morning. From 1996 the whole of that afternoon journey to Cardiff didn't run on schooldays. The service otherwise changed very little in the period covered by this gallery, with just minor alterations to times. It only ever ran on Mondays to Saturdays with hourly departures from Cardiff from approximately 0900 to 1800.
In the National Welsh era coaches were used on this service carrying branding. This was originally just for the X8 but following the introduction of the X9 service on 27th February 1984 changed to show both X8 and X9 as both services were interworked at Cardiff.
© David Beilby
