Redeveloped city station could be completed by 2028

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

Developers behind plans for a revamped Cardiff Central train station hope it will be ready in time for the 2028 European Championships.

A document published ahead of a Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) scrutiny committee states that a planning application for the multi-million pound scheme is expected to be submitted sometime between October and December, 2024.

Transport for Wales (TfW) will give a presentation to CCR scrutiny committee members on Thursday, October 10, on a business case for the project and an expected timeline.

Issues

A CCR report on the meeting states that Cardiff Central “urgently” needs upgrading to deal with current issues like accessibility, crowding, safety and performance.

It continues: “The capacity enhancements to Cardiff Central Station are a critical component of the overall South Wales Metro programme.

“The station’s capacity determines the overall capability and resilience of the network and is also the sole connection between the South Wales Mainline and the Core Valley Lines.

“As such, the ability of the station to deal with increased patronage is fundamental to the future success of city-region infrastructure, and its ability to achieve dispersed and inclusive growth and uplifts in productivity across the CCR.”

CCR is one of the key stakeholders in the Cardiff Central redevelopment scheme, alongside the Department for Transport and the Welsh Government.

In January, 2018, CCR agreed in-principle to set-aside £40m of City Deal funding to support the redevelopment. The UK Government’s contribution stands at £77m and the Welsh Government’s is £21m.

The CCR report states a full business case for the scheme is expected to be issued to stakeholders by the end of November.

Crossrail

Procurement for design and construction work is expected to take place before the end of the year as well.

If all goes according to plan, the timeline shows that the detailed design stage will take place in 2025 along with enabling works.

Construction could be completed by June, 2028. The development would mark one of a number of changes proposed for the station and the area around it.

Images were recently published showing what the new tramline running from Cardiff Central to Cardiff Bay could look like.

The first phase of Cardiff Crossrail will see a new two platform tram station incorporated into Cardiff Central on its south side.

Plans for the tramline show that the route would take it through Callaghan Square before joining up with the existing line between Cardiff Bay and Queen Street station.