Radyr railway station

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 in June 1863, 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. 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. 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 the 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 Treherbert).

These renovation allowed the last of the old sidings to be removed, redeveloped for parking and as a housing developments.

Present

Today the station, operated by Arriva Trains Wales, has three platforms. Platform 1 is used for trains heading towards Cardiff Central on the Rhondda and Merthyr lines. Platforms 2 and 3 are used both for trains heading away from Cardiff and as a terminus for the City line. The majority of the trains stopping at Radyr run on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines.

The car park is on the opposite side of the tracks from Platform 3 and a footbridge connects it to the platforms. Platform 1 is also accessible up a long flight of steps from a road that passes under the railway close to the car park entrance. The station is not currently accessible to the disabled as all three platforms are only accessible using steps. However, a new £3 million accessible footbridge with lifts is under construction and due to be completed in Spring 2015.

The ticket office is manned in peak morning hours. Travel time into Cardiff Central is 15 minutes on all lines, with trains on the Rhondda and Merthyr lines running about every 15 minutes.

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.

In 2015 work started to replace the old footbridge with a new one which includes step-free access to all platforms via lifts. The project was funded by Network Rail and the Department for Transport Access for All scheme.

Services

In Monday-Saturday daytimes, there are usually eight trains an hour from Cardiff Central to destinations including Pontypridd, Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. There are eight trains an hour to Cardiff Central (two via Ninian Park) with some trains continuing beyond Cardiff to Barry Island, Bridgend (via the Vale of Glamorgan line) and Coryton (via the City line).

A reduced service operates on Sundays, with no trains on the City line.