Great Western Coffee Shop

Is there a particular reason why the late services from Paddington-Swansea skip Cardiff Central on a Saturday night?

Erm all Swansea services from Paddington call at Cardiff.

Which service you referring to?

Hmm, one of the intercity trains pulled into Bridgend about 00:50 (I can see the station from my window). I thought it was odd because the last train you can get back from Cardiff on a Saturday is usually around 22:30.
I looked at the arrivals board on nationalrail.co.uk, and it was a train from Paddington. I looked at the details and it stopped at Newport, and then Bridgend.

Only thing it could have been is the rather large engineering blockade last night.

however i'm fairly confident it stopped, as the damn thing woke be up as it crawled past at about 10mph

The train in question 'sets down only' at Cardiff Central.

Ive noticed on Saturdays there is only 1 train per hour from Cardiff Central to London Paddington whilst during the week there is a train every half hour.

Correct.

i guess this is to do with people using the trains for business during the week so the need for a train every half hour from the Welsh capital to the English capital!

However surely at weekend a lot of people would use the train also?

lots do.

Its regularly packed when i get on a service from BPW to cardiff on a sat/sun

Which is why im surprised they dont run 2 trains an hour to Cardiff from London/BPW at weekends.

Am I right in thinking that in the summer the sets are used to provide additional services to the South West?

That is correct. They also run a summer saturday service to Pembroke. Up until last year this used to run as an extra service, now its part of the hourly Paddington-Swansea services which must make that train very overcrowded in the summer peaks.

It does.