Cathays railway station

Cathays railway station is a station on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. It is 1+1/4 mi north of Cardiff Central.

The station is next to Cardiff University Students' Union and across the road from many Cardiff University buildings, as well as a short walk from the Welsh Government and other civic buildings in Cathays Park. The footbridge over the railway is much used as a shortcut between Park Place and Senghenydd Road. When Cathays opened in 1983 it reversed a trend to close stations. Funded by British Rail and South Glamorgan County Council, construction commenced in April 1983, with the station opened on 3 October 1983.

Cathays station is now staffed during peak hours, since the introduction of a new automated ticket barrier system in summer 2007. Cathays has two platforms, each with a small shelter and an information screen displaying the next train's arrival.

The station is the seventh-most used railway station in Wales but is inaccessible to wheelchair users who wish to cross between platforms as there are no bridges or lifts. Transport for Wales has future plans to install an accessible bridge as part of the South Wales Metro project.

Services
In the daytime from Monday to Saturday, there are usually six trains an hour from Cardiff Central to Pontypridd and then either Aberdare, Treherbert or Merthyr Tydfil (every half hour to each of the latter three). Some eastbound trains continue beyond Cardiff to Barry Island (3 per hour) or Bridgend via the Vale of Glamorgan Line (hourly).

There are bus services from outside the station, including Megabus and National Express.