Rail transport in Cardiff

Rail transport in Cardiff has developed to provide connections to many other major cities in the United Kingdom, and to provide an urban rail network for the city and its commuter towns in southeast Wales. Today, there are three train operating companies in Cardiff: Arriva Trains Wales, First Great Western and CrossCountry.

Railway lines in Cardiff

Legend
To Rhymney
To Coryton

Heath Low Level/High Level(Interchange)
To Pontypridd
Llandaf
Cathays

Danescourt
Fairwater
Waun-Gron Park
To Bridgend
Cardiff Queen Street(Interchange)
To Newport and England
Ninian Park

Cardiff Central(Interchange)
Cardiff Riverside

Canal Parade goods depot

Bute West docks
Bute East docks (Atlantic Wharf)
East Moors depot
Cardiff Bay

Grangetown

Roath docks
Cardiff Bay quayside
Queen Alexandra docks
Penarth Flats docks
Penarth Moors docks
To Barry and Rhoose Cardiff Airport
To Penarth

Services to/from Cardiff

Arriva Trains Wales

National
Regional
Local

These services operate on the Valley Lines network - an urban rail network centred on Cardiff that connects it to its commuter towns in South East Wales:

First Great Western

National
Regional

CrossCountry

National

Stations in Cardiff

All 20 railway stations in Cardiff are owned by Network Rail and managed by Arriva Trains Wales which also operates all train services at these stations, with the exception of Cardiff Central which is also served by CrossCountry and First Great Western. The stations form part of Cardiff's commuter rail network, colloquially known as Valley Lines

Cardiff Central[1] and Cardiff Queen Street are the main hubs of the city and are the two busiest stations in Wales.

Cardiff Central is one of the United Kingdom's major railway stations, providing connections to Newport, Bristol, Bath, Reading, London, Southampton, Portsmouth, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Birmingham and Nottingham. It is located in the south of the Cardiff city centre

Cardiff Queen Street is the hub of the Valley Lines network, with all lines running through the station. It is located in Cardiff's eastern city centre.

Station Area Station Code Platforms 13/14 Entry/Exit (millions) Year opened Lines Image
Birchgrove
Llwynbedw		 Birchgrove BCG 1 0.034 1929 Coryton Line
Cardiff Bay
Bae Caerdydd		 Butetown
Cardiff Bay		 CDB 1 1.019 1841[2] Butetown Branch Line
Cardiff Central
Caerdydd Canolog		 Cardiff city centre CDF 7 11.74 1850 Cardiff City Line
Coryton Line,
Ebbw Valley Railway
Maesteg Line,
Merthyr Line
Rhondda Line
Rhymney Line
South Wales Main Line
Vale of Glamorgan Line
Cardiff Queen Street
Caerdydd Heol Y Frenhines		 Cardiff city centre
Adamsdown		 CDQ 3 2.463 1840 Butetown Line
Coryton Line
Merthyr Line
Rhondda Line
Rhymney Line
Cathays
Cathays		 Cathays
Cardiff University		 CYS 2 0.807 1983 Merthyr Line
Rhondda Line
Coryton
Coryton		 Coryton
Pantmawr
Whitchurch		 COY 1 0.266 1911 Coryton Line
Danescourt
Danescourt		 Danescourt
Llandaff North		 DCT 2 0.086 1987 City Line
Fairwater
Tyllgoed		 Fairwater FRW 2 0.051 1987 City Line
Grangetown
Grangetown		 Grangetown
Leckwith		 GTN 2 0.180 1882 Vale of Glamorgan Line
Heath High Level
Lefel Uchaf y Mynydd Bychan		 Heath
Cyncoed		 HHL 2 0.311 1915 Rhymney Line
Heath Low Level
Lefel Isel y Mynydd Bychan		 Heath
Cyncoed		 HLL 1 0.054 1911 Coryton Line
Lisvane and Thornhill
Llys-faen		 Lisvane
Thornhill		 LVT 2 0.176 1871 Rhymney Line
Llandaf
Llandaf		 Llandaff North
Gabalfa
Whitchurch		 LLN 2 0.441 1840 Merthyr Line
Rhondda Line
Llanishen
Llanishen		 Llanishen LLS 2 0.221 1871 Rhymney Line
Ninian Park
Parc Ninian		 Leckwith
Ninian Park
Canton		 NNP 2 0.100 1987 City Line
Radyr
Radyr		 Radyr
Morganstown		 RDR 3 0.469 1863 Merthyr Line
Rhondda Line
City Line
Rhiwbina
Rhiwbina		 Rhiwbina RHI 1 0.046 1911 Coryton Line
Ty Glas
Tŷ Glas		 Llanishen
Heath		 TGS 1 0.131 1987 Coryton Line
Waun-Gron Park
Parc Waun-Gron		 Fairwater
Canton		 WNG 2 0.055 1987 City Line
Whitchurch
Yr Eglwys Newydd		 Whitchurch WHT 1 0.011 1911 Coryton Line

Railway lines

The rail network within and around Cardiff

These are the main rail lines that serve Cardiff. Most of the lines are Cardiff commuter lines that form the city's urban rail network.

South Wales Main Line

Main article: South Wales Main Line

The South Wales Main Line is a branch of the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington. It diverges from the main line near Swindon, first passing through Bristol Parkway and continuing through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff via Newport. The line continues from the city towards West Wales. There are plans to electrify the line between Cardiff and London.[3]

Butetown Line

The Butetown Line is a short line running from Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay. Rail services call only at those stations with a frequency of every 12 minutes.

Cardiff City Line

The Cardiff City Line is entirely within Cardiff running to its western suburbs. The line terminates at Radyr, after calling at Ninian Park, Waun-Gron Park, Fairwater and Danescourt. Rail services run to Cardiff Central and Queen Street every 30 minutes, and usually continue on the Coryton Line.

Coryton Line

The Coryton Line is entirely within Cardiff running to its northern suburbs. The line terminates at Coryton, after calling at stations in Heath, Llanishen, Birchgrove, Rhiwbina and Whitchurch. Rail services run to Cardiff Central and Queen Street every 30 minutes, and usually continue on the Radyr Line.

Ebbw Valley Railway

The Ebbw Valley Railway was re-opened to passenger rail services in February 2008. The line provides an hourly service between Cardiff Central and Ebbw Vale Town. The line follows the South Wales Main Line eastbound out of Cardiff before diverging north and calling at Rogerstone, Risca and Pontymister, Crosskeys, Newbridge, Llanhilleth and Ebbw Vale Parkway.

Maesteg Line

The Maesteg Line runs from Cardiff to Maesteg in Bridgend County Borough. The line follows the South Wales Main Line through the Vale of Glamorgan until Bridgend, calling at minor stations which are not served by high speed services. The line then diverges northwards through Sarn and Tondu. Services run every hour to and from Cardiff, often extending to Cheltenham Spa.

Merthyr Line

The Merthyr Line runs northward out of Cardiff, calling at stations in the suburbs of Cathays, Llandaff and Radyr, where it connects with the City Line. It continues into Rhondda Cynon Taff, through Taffs Well, Treforest and Pontypridd. Frequencies on this stretch of the line are usually every 15 minutes.

After calling at Abercynon, the line splits into two branches; one to Merthyr Tydfil via Merthyr Vale and another to Aberdare via Mountain Ash. Frequencies are every 30 minutes on both branches and often link up with Vale of Glamorgan Line services to Barry Island or Bridgend via Rhoose Cardiff International Airport.

Rhondda Line

The Rhondda Line is a line that runs north from Cardiff through the Rhondda Valley to Treherbert. The line is shared with the Merthyr Line until Pontypridd. From there, the line diverges through Porth, Tonypandy and Treorchy amongst others.

Services run every 30 minutes and often continue through Cardiff onto the Vale of Glamorgan Line to Penarth or Barry Island.

Rhymney Line

The Rhymney Line is another line that runs northwards from Cardiff and calls at stations in the city suburbs of Heath, Llanishen and Lisvane before continuing to Caerphilly and places such as Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed and Bargoed.

Services on this stretch of line run every 15 minutes. Every hour, trains continue on the rest of the line to Rhymney. Trains often continue through Cardiff onto the Vale of Glamorgan Line to Penarth.

Vale of Glamorgan Line

The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a line that runs from Cardiff through the largely rural county of the Vale of Glamorgan to Bridgend. The line comprises three branches. Trains call at Grangetown in Cardiff before continuing on the main line to stations in Dinas Powys and Barry, or diverging onto a branch serving Penarth. After Barry, services can either continue again to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport, Llantwit Major and Bridgend or diverge to Barry Island.

Frequencies to Penarth or to Barry Island are every 15 minutes, and to Bridgend via Cardiff Airport are every hour. Train services often continue after Cardiff Queen Street on the Merthyr, Rhondda or Rhymney Lines.

Main destinations

There are direct services from Cardiff Central to the following destinations, with the average scheduled journey time:

Train operators

Current train operators
Operator Years Image Stock operated Route
Arriva Trains Wales 2003–2018 Class 57 and Mark 2/Mark 3
Class 175 Coradia
Class 158 Express Sprinter
Class 153 Super Sprinter
Class 142/143 Pacer and Class 150 Sprinter
Class 121 Bubble Car		 Cardiff Central-Holyhead
Manchester Piccadilly-Pembroke Dock / Cardiff Central-Holyhead
Maesteg-Cheltenham Spa
South Wales Main Line
Valley Lines
Cardiff Bay Line
CrossCountry 2007–2016 Class 170 Turbostar Cardiff Central-Nottingham
First Great Western 1996-2006
2006-2016		 Class 43 HST and British Rail Mark 3
Class 158 Express Sprinter
Class 142 Pacer		 London Paddington / South Wales Main Line
Cardiff Central-Portsmouth Harbour
Cardiff Central-Taunton

Former train operators
Operator Years Image
Central Trains 1997–2007
Great Western Trains 1996–1998
Valley Lines 1995–2001

Former train operators
Operator Years Image
Virgin Trains 1997–2007
Wales & Borders 2001–2003
Wales & West 1997–2001
Wessex Trains 2001–2006

Transport connections

Cardiff Central bus station with Central railway station in the background

Cardiff Central bus station is located next to Central railway station to form a main bus/rail interchange, with most Cardiff Bus services calling at or near to Central Station. Bus services also call at or near to Cardiff Queen Street station.[4] Some bus services in the city districts connect with local railway stations.[5]

The Free b city shuttle calls at Central Station every 10 minutes, linking key points of the city centre.

The Cardiff Waterbus towards Cardiff Bay stops at Taff Mead Embankment, near Central Station.

Taxi ranks are located outside Central Station, as is cycle parking which is also available at many other city stations.

Cardiff International Airport connects with the Cardiff rail network at Rhoose Cardiff International Airport station, from which free shuttle buses run to the departures terminal.

Future plans

The disused railway station in the St. Fagans area, in the west of the city, could be reopened to bolster transport links for a major Cardiff tourist attraction, under a proposal in March 2010 by former First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM and Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, follow predictions that visitor numbers to the National History Museum could top one million a year by 2017. By 2012, further submissions will be made to try to secure £8.7m of funding towards the project.[6]

Network Rail is currently proposing adding an extra two platforms to both Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street station, and installing a light rail metro system in the city.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Coordinates: 51°28′34″N 3°10′48″W / 51.4760°N 3.1800°W
  2. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/nhob_walk/walk05.shtml
  3. ↑ Milmo, Dan (2009-07-21). "London to Cardiff rail line will be electrified to cut carbon footprint". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  4. ↑ http://www.cardiffbus.com/pdfs/cardiff%20centremap.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.cardiffbus.com/pdfs/network%20map.pdf
  6. ↑ WalesOnline Calls for disused St Fagans train station to be reopened 09 March 2010
  7. ↑ Steffan Rhys. "News - Wales News - Train-tram could set off in transport proposals". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
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