Editing Port Talbot (section)

==Transport==
===Railway===
[[File:PortTalbotParkway-platform 2 01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Port Talbot railway station]].]]
Port Talbot is served by the [[South Wales Main Line]] at [[Port Talbot Parkway railway station]]. [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] and [[Transport for Wales Rail|Transport for Wales]] serve the station with services westbound to {{stnlnk|Neath}} and {{stnlnk|Swansea}} and [[West Wales Line]] and eastbound to {{stnlnk|Bridgend}}, {{stnlnk|Cardiff Central}} and [[Paddington railway station|London Paddington]]. Trains also run via {{stnlnk|Hereford}} and {{stnlnk|Shrewsbury}} to {{stnlnk|Crewe}} and [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester Piccadilly]].

The new £5.6 million Integrated Transport hub was completed in 2017, linking Port Talbot Parkway with new bus and taxi links. This also included extensive upgrades to the railway station and surrounding area.

===Bus===
Port Talbot [[bus station]], located adjacent to the [[Aberafan Centre]] in the centre of the town is the main bus transport hub, it is a [[National Express Coaches|National Express]] stop. Local bus services are provided by [[First Cymru]] and South Wales Transport. The bus station's layout is very distinctive for the fact that buses must perform a 270° clockwise turn to exit the station. A [[Sustrans]] cycle route has recently been constructed at this bus station as part of the [[connect2]] scheme connecting the Afan Valley with Aberafan beach. A second bus station opened in the town in 2017, at Port Talbot Parkway railway station.

===M4 motorway===
The [[M4 motorway]] passes through the town from southeast to northwest, crossing a central area on a concrete viaduct, junctions 38 to 41 serve Port Talbot, with junctions 40 and 41 being in the commercial heart of the town. This busy urban stretch of the M4, with tight bends, two-lane carriageways, short narrow slip roads and concrete walls on both sides, was the first length of motorway in Wales when it opened to traffic in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4corbag.htm |title=The Motorway Archive. M4 in Wales – Coryton to Baglan |publisher=Iht.org |date=22 July 1966 |access-date=25 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821043142/http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4corbag.htm |archive-date=21 August 2009}}</ref> The road has a speed limit of {{convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} enforced with [[automatic number-plate recognition]] speed cameras in both directions. The stretch through Port Talbot town centre is a particular traffic congestion blackspot and there have been calls to close the slip roads at junctions 40 and 41 to improve traffic flow.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/port-talbot/2007/11/22/end-road-chaos-by-closing-m4-slip-road-91466-20134914/|title='End road chaos by closing M4 slip road' – icWales |publisher=Icwales.icnetwork.co.uk |date=22 November 2007 |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> However some commuters oppose this plan since it would add more time to their journey. A new [[dual carriageway]] relief road, the [[A4241 road|Port Talbot Peripheral Distribution Road]] (PDR),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/port-talbot/2008/07/10/top-award-for-new-port-talbot-road-91466-21303962/ |title=Top award for new Port Talbot road (2008) |publisher=walesonline.co.uk |date=10 July 2008 |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> was completed in 2013. It serves as a [[distributor road]] through Port Talbot to the southwest of the M4, beginning at M4 Junction 38 and ending near Junction 41.

===Port Talbot docks===
The [[Port Talbot Docks]] complex consist of an inner set of floating docks and an outer tidal basin. Construction of the tidal basin began in 1964 and the whole basin covers about {{convert|500|acre|ha|abbr=off|sigfig=1}}.<ref>[http://www.coastguard.ukf.net/pthistory.html www.coastguard.ukf.net: Port Talbot Coastguard Search and Rescue Emergency Team History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512011047/http://www.coastguard.ukf.net/pthistory.html |date=12 May 2008 }}</ref> The tidal basin is capable of handling ships of up to 170,000 [[Deadweight tonnage|DWT]] and is used mostly for the import of [[iron ore]] and coal for use by nearby [[Port Talbot Steelworks]]. The inner floating docks were constructed in 1898<ref>[http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/downloads/udp/complete_lowquality.pdf www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk: complete_lowquality.pdf] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821171138/http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/downloads/udp/complete_lowquality.pdf |date=21 August 2008 }}</ref> and were closed in 1959. They were re-opened in 1998 for commercial shipping and in March 2007 for the import of some steel products<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abports.co.uk/news20075640.htm|title=Associated British Ports News: Port Talbot Docks Handles First Steel Cargo For Nearly Four Decades |publisher=Abports.co.uk |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> and are capable of handling ships of up to 8,000 dwt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abport.co.uk/custinfo/ports/port/facilities.htm |title=Associated British Ports: Port Facilities |publisher=Abport.co.uk |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927125657/http://www.abport.co.uk/custinfo/ports/port/facilities.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> There have been proposals for the development of an [[Intermodal freight transport|intermodal freight]] terminal at the port.