How the Metro transformation works will affect your journey plans between October and November 2024

Metro is being purpose built for Wales’ future. It will be a modern, efficient and sustainable way to travel but there may be temporary periods of change to your journey plans while be build it. Where possible we’re scheduling the transformation work to take place during less busy times to minimise disruption. We’re offering connections between rail services and bus services.

 

Rail replacement bus services

We’re always looking at improving customer experience and your honest feedback on the survey will help us shape our rail replacement services in the future.

  • Service changes | Cardiff Central - Coryton | Mondays - Thursdays, from late evening onwards (From Monday 21 October)

    • Changes to sevices between Cardiff Central and Coryton

      Metro engineering work means that, from Mondays to Thursdays, the last train is now much earlier.

      20:15 Coryton - Cardiff Central
      19:51 Cardiff Central - Coryton

      For later services, ticket acceptance has been agreed with Cardiff Bus, visit cardiffbus.com.

      Cardiff Queen Street - Coryton

  • Service changes | Cardiff Central - Rhymney | Mondays - Thursdays and Sundays, from late evening onwards (From Monday 4 November)

    • Mondays - Thursdays, from approximately 20:00 onwards; Sundays, from approximately  18:30 onwards.

      Cardiff Central - Rhymney

October

  • Coryton line | Monday 7 October - Sunday 20 October, all day

    • Over the past months, Transport for Wales has increased its engineering work along the Coryton line in preparation for electrifying the line.

    • In preparation for the electrification of the line and to enhance the efficiency of planned infrastructure work, tfw will temporarily close the Coryton line for two weeks.

    • During this time, no rail services will run from Coryton, Rhiwbina, Birchgrove, Ty Glas or Heath Low Level.

    • During the closure, ticket acceptance will be in place with Cardiff Bus between Cardiff City Centre and Coryton.

    • Will services to Penarth be affected by the closure?

    • As Coryton services travel onwards to Penarth, from Wednesday 9 October to Sunday 20 October, Penarth services will be temporarily reduced to 2 services per hour, with services at half hour intervals travelling between Penarth, Cardiff and Caerphilly.

    • In addition to the rail service, a rail replacement service will be in place during the AM and PM peaks from Wednesday 9 October to Friday 11 October and Monday 14 October to Friday 18 October, with buses running every half an hour.

    • The Coryton to Penarth services will not run during this period.

    • Caerdydd Canolog - Penarth | Cardiff Central - Penarth
  • Penarth line | Saturday 19 October and Saturday 26 October, all day 

    • Due to engineering work taking place between Cardiff Central and Bridgend via Pontyclun, we need to limit the number of trains that can travel from Cardiff Central to Penarth as mainline trains will be diverting via Barry, on the Vale of Glamorgan line.

    • Service changes:

    • Saturday 19 October - 2 trains per hour will travel between Cardiff Queen Street and Penarth.

    • Saturday 26 October - 2 trains per hour will travel between Coryton and Penarth. No services will run from Caerphilly to Penarth due to a weekend closure on the Rhymney line.

  • Cardiff to Rhymney | Saturday 19 October - Sunday 20 October, all day

    • During this weekend, no trains will run on the Rhymney line, from Rhymney to Cardiff.

    • On Saturday 19 October, buses will replace trains between Rhymney, Bargoed, Caerphilly and Cardiff Central and will run every 15 minutes during daytime, alternating between Rhymney and Bargoed.

    • On Sunday 20 October, we’ll run 1 bus per hour from Cardiff Central to Rhymney, and 1 bus per hour to Caerphilly.

    • Services from Barry Island and Bridgend via Rhoose to Rhymney, Bargoed and Caerphilly will terminate and start at Cardiff Central.

    • Cardiff Queen Street - Rhymney

  • Cardiff Queen Street Station closures | Sunday 27 October to Friday 01 November, all day

    • As part of the South Wales Metro transformation, we’re upgrading the railway at Cardiff Queen Street, a busy gateway into our capital city. This work is essential to deliver Metro and involves new signalling and track upgrades so that we can run more services and introduce brand new electric trains onto our network soon.

    • To undertake these essential upgrades, we’ll need to close the station to trains for short periods with the work taking place during this period to minimise disruption as much as possible.

    • During the following period, Cardiff Queen Street station will be closed, with no rail services stopping at or travelling through the station:

    • Sunday 27 October to Friday 01 November, all day.

    • As this is a major junction for our Valleys, City and Cardiff Bay services, its temporary closure means several services that would normally run through Cardiff Queen Street are affected. If you’re travelling into or out of any of the following stations you will need to check before you travel as there will be replacement buses in operation or ticket acceptance with bus operators:

    • Cardiff Queen Street, Cardiff Central, Llandaff, Cathays, Cardiff Bay, Penarth, Coryton, Rhiwbina, Birchgrove, Ty Glas, and Heath Low Level.

    • The ticket office at Cardiff Queen Street station will remain open during this period to allow passengers to purchase tickets and find information on services.

    • For more information on upcoming Autumn engineering works.

  • Cardiff Queen Street - Cardiff Bay | Sunday 27 October - Sunday 03 November, all day

    • Alongside engineering works at Cardiff Queen Street, we’ll also be carrying out major track works along the Cardiff Bay line from Sunday 27 October to Sunday 3 November, with rail services resuming as normal on Monday 4 November.

    • During this time, no rail services will travel from Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay.

    • Ticket acceptance will be in place with Cardiff Bus on its Cardiff Bus Baycar number 6 service. Please check your journey on cardiffbus.com.

    • Rail replacement services:

    • We will be operating a partial bus replacement service between Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay during the following hours:

      • Sunday 27 October and Sunday 3 November - we’re running an hourly bus service between Radyr and Cardiff Bay.

      • Monday 28, Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30, and Thursday 31 October, and Friday 1 & Saturday 2 November - supplementary bus services between 06:30 - 09:15 and 21:15 - 00:00 with ticket acceptance in place with Cardiff Bus all day.

    • Please note: When rail services resume on Monday 4 November, all rail services will use platform 2 at Cardiff Bay station. Platform 1 will be closed off to the public as our teams move to upgrade the platform, replacing the temporary platform extension. Access to and from platform 2 will be via Lloyd George Avenue, with the Bute Street entrance closed.

    • Caerdydd Heol y Frenhines - Bae Caerdydd | Cardiff Queen Street - Cardiff Bay

 

Changes to train services

  • Rhymney line services

    • During the Cardiff Queen Street station closure, from Sunday 27 October to Friday 1 November, buses will replace trains between Rhymney, Bargoed, Caerphilly and Cardiff Central.

    • Buses will run every 15 minutes during daytime, alternating between Rhymney and Bargoed.

    • On Sundays, we’ll run 1 bus per hour from Cardiff Central to Rhymney, and 1 bus per hour to Caerphilly.

    • Services from Barry Island and Bridgend via Rhoose to Rhymney, Bargoed and Caerphilly will terminate and start at Cardiff Central.

  • Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr services

    • Trains from Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil will travel to Cardiff Central via the City Line (via Ninian Park), and will not stop at Llandaf, Cathays and Cardiff Queen Street.

    • Please note: services between Cardiff Central and Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr will arrive and depart from Cardiff Central at different times to usual. 

  • Pontypridd to Cardiff services

    • Daytime services between Pontypridd and Cardiff Central will decrease to 3 per hour on Sunday and 6 per hour from Monday to Saturday. The additional half-hourly service from Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay will not run.

    • Rail services will not run from Radyr to Cardiff Queen Street via Llandaff or Cathays. Those needing to travel to Llandaff, Cathays or Cardiff Queen Street can change at Radyr where a regular bus replacement service will be in operation between Radyr and Cardiff Central, stopping at these stations.

  • City Line services

    • City Line stations (Ninian Park, Waun-gron Park, Fairwater and Danescourt) will continue to be served by trains with frequency levels unchanged compared to the regular timetable.

  • Coryton line services

    • During the closure, no rail services will run on the Coryton line - Coryton, Rhiwbina, Birchgrove, Ty Glas, Heath Low Level. Ticket acceptance will be in place with Cardiff Bus between Cardiff City Centre and Coryton.

  • Cardiff to Barry Island and Bridgend (via Rhoose)

    • As buses will replace trains between Rhymney and Cardiff Central, Barry Island and Bridgend services travelling via Rhoose will start and terminate at Cardiff Central.

    • Please note: Barry Island and Bridgend services will be further affected on Sunday 27 October due to separate engineering work between Cardiff Central and Bridgend via Pontyclun, operating at reduced and altered frequencies to accommodate diverted trains.

  • Penarth line services

    • During this period, we are unable to run rail services from Cardiff Queen Street to Penarth. This is due to the number of additional rail services that will be running to Cardiff Central.

    • To ensure passengers can travel between Cardiff and Penarth, we’ll be running a rail replacement service every half an hour from Mondays to Saturdays.

  • Travel Advice FAQs

    • What work will be undertaken during this period?

      A whole package of works is planned including track and signalling work along with general maintenance.

      Find out all about Metro here.

       

      What will I expect when I arrive at the Radyr station inter-change hub?

      Radyr station will act as the main inter-change hub between rail and bus services. Customer service teams will be at hand at Radyr station to direct customers to and from the inter-change hub situated in the adjacent car park. Road transport has been arranged to link in with train services to keep wait times to a minimum. Toilet and shelter facilities will be available.

       

      Where will I be picked up or dropped off at my local station?

      Most bus service pick up / drop up points are situated outside the station. They will be clearly signposted but you can check out the location of your rail replacement bus stop here (choose your station then Car Park Information) or on the Useful Information Poster at your station.

       

      I usually take my bike on the train as I need it for onwards travel - can I take it on the bus service?

      Normally bikes are not permitted on rail replacement bus services however where possible bikes may be carried dependent on the driver’s discretion and space available. Any bikes carried on our bus services is at your own risk and Transport for Wales cannot accept responsibility for any damages.

       

      Can I take my dog on the bus service?

      Normally dogs are not permitted on rail replacement bus services except guide dogs.

       

      Can you take prams on the bus service?

      Prams are allowed however we ask that they are folded up before boarding.

       

      How much extra time will the bus service leg of my journey add to my overall journey?

      For the exact times you will need to check your specific journey plans but here’s a guide for some key journeys. These are based on average times for the time of night travelled.

      Route Approx bus service times
      Radyr - Pontypridd 00:35 hrs
      Radyr - Merthyr Tydfil 01:20hrs
      Radyr - Aberdare 01:20hrs
      Radyr - Treherbert 01:25 hrs

       

      Can I buy a ticket on the bus?

      There are no ticket purchasing facilities on board buses. Tickets must be bought before boarding a bus at your local booking office, ticket machines, on-line using our journey planner or from our app.

       

      I am a wheelchair user, can I access the rail replacement bus service?

      The buses are wheelchair accessible with low loading floors. For advice and to book assistance in advance call our Passenger Assist team 03330 050 501.

 

Future improvement work

For planned improvement works across our network that can affect the timetable please visit this page.

Planned improvement work

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