Rail transport in Cardiff

Parts of this article (those related to the South Wales Metro) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2019)

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: Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales.

v t Railway lines in Cardiff
Legend
Rhymney line Coryton line Heath Low Level│High Level Merthyr line & Rhondda line Llandaf Cathays Danescourt Fairwater Waun-Gron Park South Wales Main Line to Bridgend Cardiff Queen Street South Wales Main Line to Newport & Ebbw Valley line Ninian Park Cardiff Central 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 Vale of Glamorgan line Penarth branch

Services to/from Cardiff[]

Transport for Wales[]

National

• Cardiff Central – Newport – Hereford – Shrewsbury – Wrexham General – Chester – Rhyl – Llandudno Junction – Holyhead
• Cardiff Central – Newport – Hereford – Shrewsbury – Crewe – Manchester Piccadilly
• Cardiff Central – Bridgend – Port Talbot Parkway – Neath – Swansea – Llanelli – Carmarthen – Milford Haven
• Cardiff Central – Newport – Gloucester – Cheltenham Spa

Regional

• Cardiff Central – Bridgend – Port Talbot Parkway – Neath – Swansea
• Cardiff Central – Rogerstone – Risca and Pontymister – Ebbw Vale Parkway

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:

• Cardiff Central – Cardiff Queen Street – Rhiwbina – Coryton
• Cardiff Central – Ninian Park – Fairwater – Radyr
• Cardiff Central – Grangetown – Penarth
• Cardiff Central – Grangetown – Dinas Powys – Barry – Barry Island
• Cardiff Central – Grangetown – Dinas Powys – Barry – Rhoose Cardiff International Airport – Llantwit Major – Bridgend
• Cardiff Queen Street – Cardiff Bay
• Cardiff Central – Pontyclun – Bridgend – Maesteg
• Cardiff Central – Cardiff Queen Street – Caerphilly – Ystrad Mynach – Bargoed – Rhymney
• Cardiff Central – Cardiff Queen Street – Radyr – Pontypridd – Abercynon – Merthyr Tydfil
• Cardiff Central – Cardiff Queen Street – Radyr – Pontypridd – Abercynon – Mountain Ash – Aberdare
• Cardiff Central – Cardiff Queen Street – Radyr – Pontypridd – Tonypandy – Treorchy – Treherbert

Great Western Railway[]

National

• Cardiff Central – Newport – Bristol Parkway – Swindon – Reading – London Paddington
• Cardiff Central – Bristol Temple Meads – Bath Spa – Southampton Central – Portsmouth Harbour
• Cardiff Central �� Bristol Temple Meads – Weston-super-Mare – Taunton

Regional

• Cardiff Central – Newport – Filton Abbey Wood – Bristol Temple Meads
• Cardiff Central – Bridgend – Port Talbot Parkway – Neath – Swansea
  • Daily/Summer Weekend extensions to Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock respectively

CrossCountry[]

National

• Cardiff Central – Newport – Gloucester – Birmingham New Street – Derby – Nottingham

Stations in Cardiff[]

All 20 railway stations in Cardiff are owned by Network Rail and managed by Transport for Wales which also operates all train services at these stations, with the exception of Cardiff Central which is also served by CrossCountry and Great Western Railway. 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	8	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	5	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[]

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[]

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 Central via Newport. The line continues from the city towards West Wales. The line between London and Cardiff is being electrified.^[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, Ty Glas, 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 10 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[]

Transport connections[]

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 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 South Wales Metro System is a proposed major overhaul of the transport systems in South East Wales, including integration of heavy rail and development of light rail and bus-based public transport services around the hub of Cardiff Central.

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

See also[]

• Transport in Cardiff
• Transport in Wales

References[]

External links[]

• Transport for Wales
• Cross Country trains
• First Great Western