Cardiff Bay railway station


Cardiff Bay railway station, formerly Cardiff Bute Road, is a station serving the Cardiff Bay and Butetown areas of Cardiff, Wales. It is the southern terminus of the Butetown Branch Line 1 mile south of.
Only one platform is now in use. The station building lies on Bute Street, although the rest of the station remains visible from the nearby Lloyd George Avenue. For various reasons, including it being the origin of the first steam-powered passenger train service in Wales, the station is a Grade II* listed building.
The station is within walking distance of the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre
Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales. The station is due to close by December 2023, when the new Cardiff Bay station opens.

History

The line to the docks was opened on 9 October 1840 but the station was not mentioned in Bradshaw's railway timetables until December 1844. It was opened as "Cardiff Bute Dock" but the name was changed to "Cardiff Docks" in 1845 by the Taff Vale Railway. The station building was the head office of the TVR until 1862. After this it also housed the consulates of the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Brazil, with separate flag poles provided for each nation.
It was renamed "Cardiff Bute Road" by the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1924 and given its present name in 1994.

Renovation of station building

Use as a railway museum

The building was restored in the 1980s and served for a time as a railway museum under the auspices of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and the Butetown Historical Railway Society. Following this, the station building had become derelict with train passengers now using a temporary shelter.

Residential and commercial property

In August 2017, plans to build an office and apartment block next to a Grade II-listed former railway station in Cardiff were approved. These included renovating and converting the derelict building and link it to a new four-storey building. The new building would house 10 flats, offices and a cafe. The Victorian Society said the Bute Street station was one of the oldest and most significant railway structures in Wales and last year appeared on its list of the 10 most endangered buildings. It said it supported a sensitive restoration scheme but the current proposal would cause a "high degree of harm to the building and its setting". The first stage of the development opened in June 2019.

Services

There is a shuttle service between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay every 12 minutes Monday to Saturdays and every 12 minutes on Sundays using Class 153 Sprinters and Class 143 Pacers. Some services were formerly operated by a Class 121 "bubble car", but this unit was withdrawn in June 2013.

Proposed new station

In June 2018, the new Welsh train operating company Transport for Wales Rail Services announced plans to build a line extension and a terminus station, The Flourish for the Butetown Branch, along with an intermediate station at Loudoun Square. This station, will completely replace the existing station, which will close.
Part of the South Wales Metro, it will continue to serve the Cardiff Bay area and is to be opened by December 2023. The station is to have 2 platforms and will be served by tram-train vehicles. The former station buildings are due to close when the new station opens.