A new train station is set to be built in the heart of Cardiff's student area as part of the new South Wales Metro. Plans for the station on Crwys Road in Cathays have been approved by the council, with work set to begin in the coming months.
The multi-million pound Metro project, which is set to be mostly completed in 2024, will provide a new integrated public transport network across south Wales, comprising heavy and light rail, trams and new buses. The Crwys Road stop is one of several new stations being built while current ones are also being re-developed as part of plans to improve capacity and provide faster, more frequent and greener services.
The approved plans will see two new platforms built on either side of the railway line that currently runs between Cardiff Queen Street and Heath High Level, with lift access to Crwys Road overhead also included in the proposals. Get the latest news from across Cardiff sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletter.
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The eastern platform is set to be nearly 90 metres long, running between the adjacent Daviot Close and Moy Road. Meanwhile, the slightly shorter western platform will extend from Norman Street and Alexander Street down to Crwys Road and the site of the derelict St Martins Church Hall.
Both platforms will have stair access, with the western side accessed from Alexander Street and the other from Crwys Road, with an access ramp also included. The eastern side will also feature lift access to a high-level walkway, which would be accessed via Crwys Road.
There is no station building planned, with a waiting shelter and three bicycle hoops on each platform making up the rest of the proposals. However, the planning application also states that Transport for Wales and AIW are currently liaising with a third party over potentially developing the church hall site next to the western plaform, with its lower floors potentially providing further lift access to Crwys Road.
While the new station will form part of the substantial upgrades being made to the Core Valley Lines as part of the Metro project, those who live close to the development site have been vocal in their disapproval of the plans. Local residents have claimed it will have a disastrous impact on house prices in the area as well as causing increased noise and a loss of privacy for those overlooking the railway line.
"This would destroy the value of my house, cause major disruption, cause increased noise, footfall, littering, loss of privacy and many other negative impacts on my life," wrote one. Another added: "Railway stations can cause unavoidable noise and disturbance, both of which will greatly impact me as I will be living less than 50 yards from the proposed station entrance.
"The planning application notes that due to the electrification of the railway, noise levels will be mitigated however it doesn’t account for the significant levels of noise arising from station announcements, trains braking and trains setting off. Whilst I appreciate the benefits of building a new station, I strongly object to the planned development."
A resident of Alexander Street also raised concerns that the road would change from a "quiet residential cul-de-sac to a station access road," while also claiming that the platforms were "too near" to people's houses. They added: "A simple conversation between two passengers waiting for the train at 6am will be overheard [by residents].
The work on the platform was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023, although it is unclear what the current timescale for the project's completion is. It comes after work began on the new Butetown station earlier this year, alongside the redeveloped Cardiff Bay station.
The new two-platform station is being built opposite Maria Street, just north of the Letton Road underpass. A new track will be installed and new electrically powered tram-trains - run using overhead line equipment - will be introduced, with TfW lauding the Cardiff Bay Line Transformation scheme as art of "the biggest upgrade to public transport in the area for a generation"
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