Cardiff Bay Station branch

[whole diary]

[jamestheredengine]

Big changes being consulted on for the valley lines next summer.

All aberdare and merthyr services will loop clockwise or anticlockwise around the city centre via Radyr- Cathays -Central -Ninian Park-radyr and back up the valleys.

In addition all services from Rhymney  and Bargoed will run to Barry Island and Bridgend via VOG.

The Penarth branch will be served by a 2tph from Coryton abd a 2tph service to Caerphilly.

This gives 6tph between Cardiff and Caerphilly compared to 4tph now.

Cardiff  Bay line gets 4tph to queen Street  shuttle as well as a 2tph service to Pontypridd.  So Cathays to pontypridd still gets 6tph. Cardiff to pontypridd will increase from 5-6,tph^▸ (trains per hour) to 8tph.

The cityline gains a Sunday service too so now only the Coryton branch has no trains on sundays

https://tfw.wales/sites/default/files/2023-12/TfW%20Rail%209th%20SA%20%28June%2024%29%20Form%20P.pdf

This is a silly service pattern. Cathays is Wales's 6th busiest station and the busiest station on the entire suburban network north of Queen Street. Cathays is overwhelmingly a south-facing station – the suburban network should be called the Vale of Glamorgan Lines. Very few Cathays passengers want Cardiff Bay. In general, they want Central, interchanges at Central, or stations Cogan to Llantwit Major/Barry Island. If we're messing with the Bay shuttle, it should go to Caerphilly/Coryton as the less busy branches.

[johnneyw]

A day out in Cardiff today took me eventually to Cardiff Bay.  Here's a photo taken from the station shelter showing work coming on for the second platform and line.
This compares to an up thread photo posted in mid December from the same spot.  A lot of the additional platform is already built and the foundations for the rest are being completed.
The intermediate new station on the way to Queen Street is looking even closer to completion.

[grahame]

This is a silly service pattern. Cathays is Wales's 6th busiest station and the busiest station on the entire suburban network north of Queen Street. Cathays is overwhelmingly a south-facing station – the suburban network should be called the Vale of Glamorgan Lines. Very few Cathays passengers want Cardiff Bay. In general, they want Central, interchanges at Central, or stations Cogan to Llantwit Major/Barry Island. If we're messing with the Bay shuttle, it should go to Caerphilly/Coryton as the less busy branches.

It's going to be hard to please everyone, especially when you have different train types coming on the electric and none-electric bits. Looking at Cathays as we were doing a couple of days back - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/flows.html?stn=3820 - one of the dramatic things there's is how much the pattern has changed in the last five years.  And I would ask how much is the pattern effected by the routes offered - if there were (for impractical example)  Cathays to Bargoed direct services, would that flow come up the rankings too? 

[Hafren]

I think a lot of the pattern changes come down to the way train-trams are to be deployed. Perhaps joining the dots between the following:

• Cardiff Bay extension will be the first 'tram' destination.
• The train-tram depot is in Taffs Well. (Placed here for land availability or political reasons, and service pattern following from this, or located based on service pattern decision...?)
• RCT valleys the most likely (or at least vaguely possible) next 'tram' mode extensions? (Hirwain, Rhondda Fawr etc?)
• The eventual proposed plan (or at least one of them) would have 6tph to CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains) and 6tph to CBD from the RCT axis - so the CDB trains are all extras compared to existing pattern. (Again cause or effect? Already decided to run train-trams from CDB that way so extra services needed, or running to CDB because of desire for extra trains? Worth noting more trains needed in total because train-tram shorter than Sprinter.)

 

[johnneyw]

Had a pootle around Cardiff yesterday taking in the Cardiff Bay line to have a look at progress on the upgrades there and take a few pics.
The new platforms, especially at Cardiff Bay itself, are quite generously proportioned but there's still space remaining for the 3rd platform planned for the "Cardiff Crossrail" tram from Cardiff Central station which is due to commence construction next year. 
The intermediate station is also progressing but there's no sign as yet of any electrification works going on that I could see from the train.
The car park on the south side of Central station station is where the tram platforms are to be located with the Bay and tram lines converging after taking a route through Callaghan Square.
Here's the photos that I took from the old bit of the Bay platform that's still in use.

[anthony215]

Had a pootle around Cardiff yesterday taking in the Cardiff Bay line to have a look at progress on the upgrades there and take a few pics.
The new platforms, especially at Cardiff Bay itself, are quite generously proportioned but there's still space remaining for the 3rd platform planned for the "Cardiff Crossrail" tram from Cardiff Central station which is due to commence construction next year. 
The intermediate station is also progressing but there's no sign as yet of any electrification works going on that I could see from the train.
The car park on the south side of Central station station is where the tram platforms are to be located with the Bay and tram lines converging after taking a route through Callaghan Square.
Here's the photos that I took from the old bit of the Bay platform that's still in use.

398s are to start entering service summer 2025 starting on the Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay service.

756/1s starting entering service 11th november the 756/'s will enter service spring 2025 on the Coryton/Caerphilly to Penarth shuttles

[johnneyw]

There's been considerable recent change at Cardiff Bay station.  The line itself is currently out of operation while the current set of works are underway which includes the electrification infrastructure.  Below are yesterday's photos Cardiff Bay station taken from various viewpoints and angles.  The old fencing has gone as has pretty much entirety the old platform. The catenary is clearly visible now.  Additionally, it can be better seen more how the third platform (serving the future tram direct to Cardiff Central) will fit into the scheme.
Photos below.

[johnneyw]

A few more photos, the last one being the intermediate new station between the bay and Queen Street.

[anthony215]

A few more photos, the last one being the intermediate new station between the bay and Queen Street.

Butetown and just further north is the new allingement and junction being built for the link towards Cardiff Central

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your updates and pictures, johnneyw - much appreciated by those of us who are not in that area.

CfN.