, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Bay Railway Station (geograph 6004274).jpg , caption = Cardiff Bay railway station (May 2018) , borough = Cardiff Bay,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name =

Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

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Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) 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) consi ...

, platforms = 1 , code = CDB , classification = DfT category F1 , years1 = 9 October 1840 , events1 = Line opened , years2 = December 1844 , events2 = Station opened as Cardiff Bute Dock , years3 = 1845 , events3 = Renamed Cardiff Docks , years4 = 1 July 1924 , events4 = Renamed Cardiff Bute Road , years5 = 26 September 1994 , events5 = Renamed Cardiff Bay , mpassengers = , footnotes = Passenger statistics from the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

Cardiff Bay railway station ( cy, Bae Caerdydd), formerly ''Cardiff Bute Road'', is a station serving the Cardiff Bay and

Butetown Butetown (or ''The Docks'', cy, Tre-biwt) is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by the 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose t ...

areas of

, Wales. It is the southern

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of the Butetown branch line 1 mile (1.5 km) 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 Lloyd George Avenue ( cy, Rhodfa Lloyd George), originally known as Bute Avenue, is an avenue in Cardiff, Wales. Roughly one mile long, the road links the Inner Harbour of Cardiff Bay to Cardiff city centre and forms part of the A470 road. It ...

. 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 In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Passenger services are provided by

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 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 st ...

(engineer:

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

). The station building came into use in 1843 and was the head office of the TVR until 1862, when new offices were built at Queen Street. After this it was let to the consulates of the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Brazil, with separate flagpoles provided for each nation. The station 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 (which in 1997 relocated its activities to the Vale of Glamorgan Railway). Following this, the station building had become derelict, with train passengers using a temporary shelter.

Residential and commercial property

In August 2017, plans were approved to renovate and convert the derelict 1840s building, and construct a four-storey building alongside it. 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 in the previous 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 (between 0630 and 2330) and every 12 minutes on Sundays (between 1100 and 1630) using Class 153 Sprinters. Some services were operated by a Class 121 "bubble car" until it was withdrawn in June 2013.

Modernisation

In June 2018, the then future Welsh train operating company

KeolisAmey Wales Keolis Amey Operations ( cy, Gweithrediadau KeolisAmey), Full legal name is bilingual including the Welsh name, as "Keolis Amey Operations / Gweithrediadau Keolis Amey Limited". trading as Transport for Wales Rail Services (TfW Rail Services) ...

announced plans to build a line extension and a terminus station, ''The Flourish'' (since renamed back to Cardiff Bay) for the Butetown Branch, along with an intermediate station at

Loudoun Square Loudoun Square is a residential square in Cardiff, Wales, described as "the heart of the old Tiger Bay". The square is the location of two of Cardiff's few residential tower blocks, as well as shops, a pub, church, health centre and community cen ...

. This station would have completely replaced the existing station, which would have closed. Plans have since been revised, and in August 2022 it was proposed to construct the two-platform Loudoun Square station further to the north, and to retain Cardiff Bay station in its present location, but to add a second platform. The station will be served by more frequent tram-train vehicles from spring 2024. The line will form part of the

South Wales Metro The South Wales Metro () is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network in South East Wales around the hub of . The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are current ...

References

External links

{{South Wales Metro Grade II* listed buildings in Cardiff Grade II* listed railway stations in Wales Bay Former Taff Vale Railway stations DfT Category F1 stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840 Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Butetown 1840 establishments in the United Kingdom