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|---|---|
 Frontage of Cardiff Central station | |
| General information | |
| Other names | Caerdydd Canolog |
| Location | City of Cardiff |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Managed by | Arriva Trains Wales |
| Platforms | 7 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | CDF |
| Key dates | |
| 1850 1932 | Opened Rebuilt |
Cardiff Central railway station (Welsh: Caerdydd Canolog) is a major British railway station in Cardiff, Wales.
It is largest and most important station in the city itself and in Wales. It is also a major part of the British rail network, being the 10th busiest station in the United Kingdom, outside of London.
It is one of 21 railway stations in the city and is a major interchange hub for the Valley Lines suburban metro services, local services in Wales, the First Great Western Intercity services and CrossCountry services to Nottingham and Newcastle upon Tyne via Birmingham, Sheffield and York.
The station is operated by Arriva Trains Wales and was known as Cardiff General until 1973. It is located near the Millennium Stadium in Central Square.
The railway station forecourt — in the practical manner common in continental Europe but relatively rare in Great Britain — accommodates Cardiff Central Bus Station.
History
The station was opened by the South Wales Railway in 1850. Its successor company, the Great Western Railway, rebuilt it in 1932 as is marked by the name carved onto the façade (larger than the name of the station). A formerly separate "Riverside" suburban station of 1893 was integrated into the main station in 1940 but its platforms ceased to be used for passenger traffic in the 1960s.
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Cardiff General -
Cardiff Central -
The Concourse looking west -
The Subway -
The view from the eastern end of platform 3
Station layout
There are two entrances. The first, and main, entrance being on Central Square, accessed from Wood Street, adjacent to Central Bus Station and two main taxi ranks. This entrance leads to the station's main forecourt with ticket desks and machines, information desks, cafés, newsagents and other facilities expected from a major station. Cash machines are also situated outside the main entrance.
The other entrance is at the rear of the station, accessed from Tresillian Way / St. Mary Street, where the station's car park is found. The railway tracks are above the subway, which runs parallel under the tracks linking the two main entrances and the platforms are accessed by stairs and lifts. From both entrances, a valid ticket is required to pass through a barrier and gain access to the platforms.
The seven platforms are arranged in three islands, 1/2, 3/4 and 6/7, with Platform 0 accessible from a separate staircase at the west end of the main concourse. Toilets, vending machines and waiting rooms are found on all islands with a café situated on platforms 1 and 2.
Services
As Wales' principal railway station, Cardiff Central is a hub for Valley Lines services (a suburban system in Cardiff and the surrounding area), the Cardiff International Airport rail link and Swanline. It essentially connects South and West Wales to major English and Scottish towns and cities as a lot of passengers for such destinations would have to change here.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Arriva Trains Wales |
Ninian Park | ||
| Cardiff Queen Street | Arriva Trains Wales |
Terminus | ||
| Terminus | Arriva Trains Wales Due to open in Dec 2007 |
Rogerstone | ||
| Terminus | Arriva Trains Wales |
Pontyclun | ||
| Cardiff Queen Street | Arriva Trains Wales |
Terminus | ||
| Cardiff Queen Street | Arriva Trains Wales |
Terminus | ||
| Arriva Trains Wales |
||||
| Terminus | Arriva Trains Wales |
Grangetown | ||
| Newport | Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff - Gloucester |
Terminus | ||
| Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff - Holyhead |
||||
| Newport | Arriva Trains Wales Cardiff - Manchester |
Terminus | ||
| Arriva Trains Wales South Wales Main Line |
Bridgend | |||
| Terminus | CrossCountry Cardiff to Nottingham |
Newport | ||
| CrossCountry Cardiff to Newcastle |
||||
| Newport | First Great Western South Wales Main Line |
Bridgend | ||
| First Great Western Cardiff - Portsmouth Harbour |
Terminus | |||
Destinations
- Gloucester (Cheltenham from December 2007)
- Manchester Piccadilly via Newport, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Crewe
- Holyhead via Newport, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Wrexham General and Chester
- Milford Haven via Bridgend, Swansea and Carmarthen
- Radyr via Fairwater
- Coryton via Heath and Rhiwbina
- Ebbw Vale via Rogerstone and Newbridge (starts late 2007)
- Maesteg via Pontyclun and Bridgend
- Merthyr Tydfil via Cardiff Queen Street, Pontypridd and Abercynon
- Aberdare via Cardiff Queen Street, Llandaf,Pontypridd and Abercynon
- Treherbert via Cardiff Queen Street, Llandaf,Pontypridd and Ystrad
- Rhymney via Cardiff Queen Street, Llanishen, Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach
- Bridgend via Barry and Rhoose Cardiff International Airport and Llantwit Major
- Penarth via Grangetown
- Nottingham via Newport, Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street and Derby
- Newcastle Central via Newport, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Birmingham New Street, Sheffield and York
- London Paddington via Newport, Bristol Temple Meads and Swindon
- Portsmouth Harbour via Newport, Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa and Southampton Central
- Swansea via Bridgend and Port Talbot Parkway
Cardiff Central Bus Station
Main article: Cardiff central bus stationThe Central Bus Station is the central point of reference for all local and national bus services in the city. The terminal contains six covered ranks on the north side for most Cardiff Bus as well as other services. Long-distance services to the valleys and coach services, e.g. TrawsCambria and National Express, run from rank A at the north end. Stops either side of Wood Street, which runs alongside the main terminal, are used mainly for departures to Barry, Penarth, Heath Hospital, Cardiff Bay, Caerau, Ely and Tremorfa.
The railway station also has a dedicated bus stop on the south side of the station, referred to as "rear of the station" by station staff. On National Rail departure boards this is sometimes referred to as Cardiff Central Bus Stn CCB. The stop is also used for Rail Replacement services and Cardiff Bus BayCar service.
Buses run weekdays from early morning (around 05:00) to late at night, the last services leaving at 23:20 on almost all major routes. The city is divided into sections by bus number, the south of the city served by the lowest numbered routes then rising in a clockwise fashion around the city to the highest numbers in the east.
"City circle" routes numbers 1 & 2 (clockwise and anti-clockwise) have circular routes which incorporate the Central Bus Station, Cardiff Bay, Western Avenue, Heath Hospital, Roath and Tremorfa.
Cardiff Airport Rail link
Cardiff International Airport is situated 12 miles east of Cardiff City Centre. In 2005 a section of the Vale of Glamorgan Line was re-opened between Barry and Bridgend. Ever since, there have been services to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station once every hour for most of the day (Monday-Saturday) and a two-hourly service on Sunday. At the airport station, passengers must take additional transport. There is a free shuttle provided to take passengers to the main terminal. Buses to and from the airport appear on the National Rail Enquiries website.
Future Plans
Traffic levels on the London Paddington route are rising faster than national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Great Western Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand, Network Rail plan to implement a new study in 2008. In the meantime, their 2007 Business Plan includes the provision of extra platform capacity at Cardiff Central (as well as Newport and Bristol Parkway), also resignalling and line speed improvements in South Wales, most of which would be delivered in 2010-2014.
See also
References
- Barrie, D.S.M. (1980). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, vol. 12: South Wales. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7970-4
External links
- Train times and station information for Cardiff Central railway station from National Rail
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