Radyr railway station is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

serving the Radyr area of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. It is at the foot of the hill at the eastern edge of the village, alongside the

River Taff The River Taff () is a river in Wales. It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan ("little Taff") and the Taf Fawr ("great Taff") before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. At Cardiff, it empties into the Bristol Chan ...

and adjacent to the

Taff Trail The Taff Trail () is a Walking in the United Kingdom, walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the Natio ...

. The station is on the Merthyr Line, and is also the northern terminus of the City Line.

History

Radyr was originally a major railway junction and the location of sidings forming a marshalling yard for freight trains used in the industries in the Glamorgan valleys. It was first opened by the

Taff Vale Railway 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 stage ...

in June 1883, and was originally named ''Penarth Junction''. At one time there were four running lines through the station, up and down passenger and up and down goods on the Taff Vale main line to the valleys northwards and via Llandaff to Cardiff and the docks to the south east. Immediately south of the station, the Cardiff City line diverged southwards and reached the east side of Cardiff via Waterhall Junction, en route to the harbour at

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

. The marshalling yard was south of the station in the fork between the running lines. Following the down-turn in coal traffic; the marshalling yard closed (in 1993) and the sidings were greatly rationalised, becoming a permanent way depot. The platforms were also rationalised, from five to two, one up and one down.

Redevelopment

In 1987 passenger services were introduced on the City Line by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

. This made Radyr a bottleneck, as the terminating trains coming from that line occupied the down platform and delays along the line to the Valleys were inevitable. It also allowed diversions for through trains which was beneficial. Redesigned as a commuter station in 1998, major renovations took place, resulting in the two freight lines being replaced by a third platform, eliminating the problem of congestion. Also, a new ticket office was built and modern shelters replaced the old waiting area. These renovations coincided with the upgrades along the Taff Main Line, where most of the track was replaced between Cardiff and Pontypridd, and the old-fashioned semaphore signals were replaced with modern, colour light signals worked from a new panel box here (this supervises the Rhondda Line all the way to ). These renovations allowed the last of the old sidings to be removed, redeveloped for parking and as a housing development.

Present

Today the station, operated by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; ; ) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consisting of itself and its subsidiaries: Trans ...

, has three platforms. Radyr has eight northbound services per hour, with a half hourly service to each of , ,

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and . There are six southbound services per hour to and another two southbound services to

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

, two heading along the City Line that continue to Cardiff Central and six going via , with four terminating at Cardiff Central and two terminating at

. Platform 1 is used for Cardiff Central and

services via Cathays, platform 2 is used for those to City Line services and platform 3 for

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and

Treherbert Treherbert () is a village and community (Wales), community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan. Treherbert is the upper mo ...

services. Extensive upgrading and modernisation works were completed in late 2017 by Network Rail as part of the Metro project which included improved access to all platforms by a new footbridge. A larger car park has also been provided to supplement the original which provides much better facilities including good lighting. Wheelchair access is now provided to all platforms via lifts. The ticket office is staffed in peak morning hours. Travel time into is 15 minutes on all lines. In July 2007, members of the Radyr Comprehensive Green Flag Committee formally adopted the station and now frequently check that the station is clean and that all amenities are working. This link ties in with a community response to ensure that railway crime is stamped out.

Services

In Monday-Saturday daytimes, there are usually eight trains an hour from to destinations including , , and . There are eight trains an hour to (two via ) with some trains continuing beyond Cardiff to , (via the Vale of Glamorgan line) and (via the City line). A reduced service operates on Sundays, with no trains on the City line. After the June 2024 timetable change, there are eight trains an hour from to destinations including , , and . The trains that runs from

will travel to Cardiff Central via the City Line. Two trains per hour from Pontypridd will continue to

. The rest of the trains continue to Cardiff Central. On Sundays, there are four trains per hour, with one train service continues via the city Line. Trains no longer run to/from Coryton after the June 2024 timetable change.

Barry Island Barry Island () is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Channel, has the wor ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

services no longer run to/from Merthyr and Aberdare as they now run services to/from

Rhymney Rhymney (; ) is a town and a community (Wales), community in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshir ...

and Bargoed.

References

External links