![]() Cardiff Queen Street seen from the north. | |||||
General information | |||||
Location | Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff Wales | ||||
Coordinates | 51°28′55″N3°10′13″W / 51.4819°N 3.1703°W | ||||
Grid reference | ST188765 | ||||
Managed by | Transport for Wales | ||||
Platforms | 5 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | CDQ | ||||
Classification | DfT category C1 | ||||
Key dates | |||||
9 October 1840 | Opened as Cardiff Taff Vale | ||||
1887 | Rebuilt and renamed Cardiff Queen Street | ||||
1928 | Enlarged | ||||
1973 | Rebuilt | ||||
2014 | Redeveloped | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | ![]() | ||||
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2019/20 | ![]() | ||||
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2020/21 | ![]() | ||||
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2021/22 | ![]() | ||||
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2022/23 | ![]() | ||||
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Cardiff Queen Street railway station (Welsh :Caerdydd Heol y Frenhines) is a railway station serving the north and east of Central Cardiff,Wales. It is the fourth busiest railway station in Wales. It is located near the major thoroughfare of Queen Street and is one of 20 stations in the city. Along with Cardiff Central,it is one of the two major hubs of the Valleys &Cardiff Local Routes local rail network. The station and its services are run by Transport for Wales.
In 2014,a reconstruction of the station was completed in order to reduce bottlenecks. Two extra platforms were put in (a previously existing platform,opposite platform 4,and a new platform next to platform 2 for the line to Cardiff Bay),taking the total number of platforms to 5.
The first station close to the current site was opened by the Taff Vale Railway in October 1840 and was known as Cardiff Taff Vale. This station initially had one platform;a second was added in 1862 and,at the same time,the head office of the Taff Vale Railway was moved alongside the station. In 1887,Taff Vale station was demolished and replaced by a new station with the current name Cardiff Queen Street. At the time,it comprised two through platforms and a south facing bay,all covered by a large overall roof. [1]
In 1858,the Rhymney Railway built its own terminus just to the east of Queen Street called Adam Street. This was replaced in 1871 by a new station called Cardiff Crockherbtown,a short distance to the north-east of Queen Street. Crockherbtown station was renamed Cardiff (Rhymney) in 1888 and then Cardiff Parade in 1924. [1]
The Taff Vale and Rhymney railways became part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1922. As there was no longer any need for two rival stations in close proximity,on 15 April 1928,the GWR opened a short connection just north of Queen Street connecting the Rhymney line to the Taff Vale line. This allowed Parade station to be closed and its services diverted to into Queen Street. To accommodate the extra Rhymney line services,Queen Street was enlarged from three to five platforms,with the addition of a new island platform. [1]
The station remained fairly unaltered until 1973,when it was completely rebuilt by British Rail. [2] The station's overall roof was removed,the original Taff Vale station frontage and booking hall demolished and replaced with a modern structure,and the number of platforms reduced to three:a central island platform and a south facing bay. Modern electric lifts were installed to take passengers from the subway to the new platforms. On the east side of the station,a large office block called Brunel House was constructed;until 1984,it was the headquarters of the Cardiff division of British Rail's Western Region. [1] [3]
In 1988,the entrance building was refurbished. In March 1990,platform 3 was turned into a through platform. [1]
In 2005,the station was fitted with new ticket gates,operational when the station is staffed,which allow easier access in both directions. In 2006,LED screens replaced the old information display monitors.
The old station car park is now dedicated for private use by residents of a nearby modern apartment block,The Aspect.
As part of a £220m regeneration scheme to boost train capacity in Cardiff and the surrounding areas,Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations were redeveloped from April 2013 and June 2014 respectively. The Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal project was completed by early 2017,funded by the UK Government's Department for Transport,Welsh Government and Network Rail. [4] [5]
As part of the scheme,a new entrance building and two new platforms were constructed at Queen Street. This brought the number of platforms back up to the pre-1973 number of five,allowing the number of trains running through the station to be increased from 12 to 16 per hour. [6] These included a second northbound through platform,and a south facing platform reserved for the shuttle service to Cardiff Bay. The new platforms were brought into use on 14 December 2014. [7]
In the spring of 2016,a roll of honour of those who served the armed forces between 1914 and 1919 from the Taff Vale Railway was put on display in the ticket hall. In November 2017,a QR code was added to give more information about those commemorated in the roll call. [8]
Queen Street is the main hub of the Valley Lines network –a railway system serving Cardiff,the Vale of Glamorgan,Bridgend and the South Wales Valleys –and has the solitary connection to Cardiff Bay. The station is located at the eastern end of the city centre,near the Capitol and St David's shopping centres,and sees heavy volumes of commuter rail traffic during the rush hour.
The station has five platforms at a level raised above the surrounding roads:
Platform | Direction | Line | Destination | Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southbound | Butetown Branch Line Shuttle | Cardiff Bay | 5t/h [12 min] |
2 | Rhymney Line | Penarth | 4t/h [15 min] | |
Cardiff City Line | Radyr | 2t/h [30 min] | ||
3 | Vale of Glamorgan Line | Bridgend via Rhoose | 1t/h [60 min] | |
Barry Island | 3t/h [15-30 min] | |||
4 | Northbound | Coryton Line | Coryton | 2t/h [30 min] |
Rhymney Line | Rhymney | 1t/h [60 min] | ||
Bargoed | 3t/h [upper-roman 1] [15 min] [upper-roman 2] | |||
5 | Rhondda Line | Treherbert | 2t/h [30 min] | |
Cynon Line | Aberdare | 2t/h [30 min] | ||
Taff Line | Merthyr Tydfil | 2t/h [30 min] |
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The typical Monday – Saturday service per hour (as of March 2016) is as follows: [9]
Northbound (towards Coryton and the Valleys):
Southbound (towards Cardiff Central, Cardiff Bay, The Vale and to Radyr via the City Line):
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Terminus | Transport for Wales Cardiff Bay branch line | Cardiff Bay | ||
Heath Low Level | Transport for Wales Coryton Line | Cardiff Central | ||
Heath High Level | Transport for Wales Rhymney Line | |||
Cathays | Transport for Wales Merthyr Line | Cardiff Central | ||
Transport for Wales Rhondda Line | ||||
Future services | ||||
Cathays | Transport for Wales Rail Cardiff Bay branch line | Butetown |
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys.
The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841.
The Rhymney Railway (RR) was a railway company in South Wales, founded to transport minerals and materials to and from collieries and ironworks in the Rhymney Valley of South Wales, and to docks in Cardiff. It opened a main line in 1858, and a limited passenger service was operated in addition.
The Cardiff City Line is a commuter railway line in Cardiff that runs between Radyr and Cardiff Central via Fairwater.
The Butetown branch line, also known as the Cardiff Bay Line, is a 1-mile-6-chain (1.7 km) commuter railway line in Cardiff, Wales from Cardiff Bay to Cardiff Queen Street. The service pattern formerly comprised a mixture of shuttle services along the branch and through trains along the Rhymney Line to Caerphilly, or the Coryton Line to Coryton, but after December 2005 was a shuttle service from Queen Street station. However, in May 2024, direct trains to Pontypridd were restored alongside shuttle services. The normal journey time is four minutes.
Grangetown railway station is a railway station serving the Grangetown district of Cardiff, Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 1 mile (1.5 km) south west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry, Penarth and Barry Island.
Dingle Road railway station is a railway station in the town of Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is on the Penarth branch of the Vale of Glamorgan Line 3 miles (5 km) south of Cardiff Central on the way to Penarth.
Radyr railway station is a railway station serving the Radyr area of Cardiff, South Wales. It is at the foot of the hill at the eastern edge of the village, alongside the River Taff and adjacent to the Taff Trail. The station is on the Merthyr Line, and is also the northern terminus of the City Line.
Taffs Well railway station is a railway station serving the village of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, as well as neighbouring Gwaelod-y-Garth, Cardiff. It is located on the Merthyr Line and the Rhondda Line. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales.
Eastbrook railway station is a railway station serving the Eastbrook area of Dinas Powys, a village near Cardiff, South Wales. It is located on Network Rail's Barry Branch 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) south of Cardiff Central towards Barry Island and Bridgend.
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line. The station has sidings to the west of its single platform which are used for the overnight stabling of the diesel multiple unit trains
Treherbert railway station serves the village of Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is the northern terminus of the Rhondda Line.
Aber railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line 8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) north of Cardiff Central on the Valley Lines network.
Caerphilly railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network. The station is located at Station Road in the south of the town. Facilities include a small shop and a ticket kiosk. A self-service ticket machine was installed near the entrance to the station on 22 December 2008. Several advertising murals depicting holiday travel in various parts of South Wales have been placed on the northbound side of the station in order to improve the 'look' of the station.
Transport in Cardiff, capital and most populous city in Wales involves road, rail, bus, water and air. It is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, government, retail, business, culture, media, sport and higher education.
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.
The South Wales Metro is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network currently being developed in South East Wales around the hub of Cardiff Central. The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are currently under way, with a new depot under construction at Taff's Well and new trains being built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland. The development will also include the electrification of the core Valley Lines and new stations.
Cardiff Crockherbtown was a railway station in the area then known as Crockherbtown in central Cardiff, and was the main Cardiff station of the Rhymney Railway. It was opened on 1 April 1871 when the Rhymney Railway opened its own route into Cardiff from Caerphilly, it replaced the nearby Adam Street station, and consisted of two through platforms and a bay. The station was built a short distance north-east of Cardiff Queen Street station of the Taff Vale Railway. In 1888 the station was renamed Cardiff (Rhymney). Passenger returns from 1920 show that 800,000 passengers were using the station per annum. In 1922, the Rhymney Railway and Taff Vale Railways became part of the Great Western Railway (GWR), and in 1924 the station was renamed again to Cardiff Parade.
Media related to Cardiff Queen Street railway station at Wikimedia Commons