Cathays railway station

Cathays
National Rail
General information
LocationCathays, Cardiff
Wales
Coordinates51°29′21″N 3°10′45″W / 51.4891°N 3.1793°W / 51.4891; -3.1793
Grid referenceST182773
Managed byTransport for Wales
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCYS
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companyBritish Rail
Key dates
3 October 1983Opened
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 0.965 million
2020/21Decrease 0.136 million
2021/22Increase 0.515 million
2022/23Increase 0.699 million
2023/24Increase 0.823 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail & Road

Cathays railway station is a station on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. It is 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) north of Cardiff Central.

The station is next to Cardiff University Students' Union and across the road from many Cardiff University buildings, as well as a short walk from the Welsh Government and other civic buildings in Cathays Park. The footbridge over the railway is much used as a shortcut between Park Place and Senghenydd Road. When Cathays opened in 1983[1] it reversed a trend to close stations. Funded by British Rail and South Glamorgan County Council, construction commenced in April 1983, with the station opened on 3 October 1983.[2][3]

Cathays station is now staffed during peak hours, since the introduction of a new automated ticket barrier system in summer 2007. Cathays has two platforms, each with a small shelter and an information screen displaying the next train's arrival.

The station is the seventh-most used railway station in Wales[4] but is inaccessible to wheelchair users who wish to cross between platforms as there are no bridges or lifts.[4] Transport for Wales has future plans to install an accessible bridge as part of the South Wales Metro project.[4]

Services

In the daytime from Monday to Saturday, there are usually six trains an hour from Cardiff Central to Pontypridd and then either Aberdare, Treherbert or Merthyr Tydfil (every half hour to each of the latter three). Some eastbound trains continue beyond Cardiff to Barry Island (3 per hour) or Bridgend via the Vale of Glamorgan Line (hourly).[5]

There are bus services from outside the station, including Megabus and National Express.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Cardiff Queen Street   Transport for Wales
Merthyr line
   Llandaf
  Transport for Wales
Rhondda line
  

References

  1. ^ Hooper, Alan; Punter, John (2007). Capital Cardiff 1975–2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780708320631.
  2. ^ First sod at Cathays Rail Enthusiast issue 22 July 1983 page 18
  3. ^ Cathays open Rail Enthusiast issue 26 November 1983 page 18
  4. ^ a b c Evans, Lucy (1 May 2023). "Cardiff: Disabled people's 20-year railway station access fight". BBC News. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  5. ^ GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 130 (Network Rail)

Media related to Cathays railway station at Wikimedia Commons