Cathays railway station, Cardiff
This was the first new railway station in Wales for 41 years when it opened in October 1983. It was built near the site of a Taff Vale Railway engine shed, venue of the 1883 National Eisteddfod (see below).
Cathays station marked a turning point in the fortunes of Welsh railways, after decades of closures of lines and stations. By the 1980s, South Glamorgan County Council wanted to improve local rail services to improve access to Cardiff and ease traffic congestion.
The new station was built a little south of the former Woodville Road Halt (a platform for northbound trains only). It cost £83,000 (over £270,000 today). The council expected up to 600 passengers per day to use it. In 2023-24, it was used by 2,255 passenger per day!
The Welsh Office doubted the need for new stations and the bare minimum was provided at Cathays. The platforms were only 60 metres long, as seen in the 1990 photo. They’ve been extended twice for longer trains.
The proximity of Cardiff University is significant. The university provided some of the land for the station, and students are the station’s main users. When Transport for Wales electrified the railway in the early 2020s, no 25kV overhead power supply was provided at Cathays, to avoid electromagnetic disturbance to the university’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. Electric trains use their batteries here.
The Taff Vale Railway had extensive yards just beyond Corbett Road (which crosses the railway on bridge north west of the station). In 1883 it completed a large new engine shed. Before steam locos started to use the shed, the tracks were covered over for the building to host the National Eisteddfod in August 1883. There was seating inside for 8,000 people and standing room for another 12,000! The loco shed continued in use until 1964.
The 1956 aerial photos, courtesy of the Welsh Government, show the long engine shed on the left and the future Cathays station site on the right. Woodville Road Halt is just below the Corbett Road bridge in the lower photo, and the main university building is in the lower left corner.
Postcode: CF10 3LU View Location Map