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
2018/19Increase 0.978 million
2019/20Decrease 0.965 million
2020/21Decrease 0.136 million
2021/22Increase 0.515 million
2022/23Increase 0.699 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+14 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]

  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.