Transport in Cardiff
Transport in Cardiff, capital and largest city in Wales involves road, rail, an extensive bus network and air.
Road
The M4 motorway connects Cardiff to other towns and cities in Britain. To the east: Newport, Bristol, Bath, Swindon, Reading and terminating at London. To the west: Bridgend, Swansea, Llanelli and terminating near Camarthen. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Cardiff can be easily accessed from junctions 29 - 34 inclusive.
The A48(M) motorway connects Junction 29 to the city centre with exits for the Cardiff suburbs of St. Mellons (westbound only), Pontprennau (M4 junction 30 at Cardiff Gate), Pentwyn, Rumney, Llanederyn and also for the University Hospital of Wales.
The A4232 (also called the Peripheral Distributor Road) connects M4 junction 33 with junction 30 by bypassing through the south of the city. From junction 33, exits are at Culverhouse Cross Interchange, Leckwith Interchange, Grangetown (for Barry and Penarth), Butetown and Cardiff Bay. The road then ends at Queen's Gate Roundabout, where the long awaited Eastern Bay Link Road will eventually link with the Southern Way Link Road (A4232). It then goes onto the M4 at junction 30 via the A48 (Eastern Avenue) and the Pentwyn Link Road (A4232).
The A470 road is the main North - South Wales route running from Cardiff Bay to Llandudno via exits for the suburbs of Tongwynlais and Taff's Well.
Congestion can be a big problem due to the city's size and the Welsh Assembly Government is considering to introduce variable congestion charging in the city centre.
Rail
The largest stations in Cardiff (and Wales) are Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street which over 11 million people use each year. They are both operated by Arriva Trains Wales and controlled by ticket barriers.
National
Cardiff Central is one of the busiest stations in the United Kingdom with 7 platforms. Cardiff Central is situated on the South Wales Mainline providing national services while Queen Street station is the hub of the Valley Lines suburban rail network (See Below).
Central Station provides regular shuttle services to London Paddington via Bristol Parkway, with other links to Swansea on the South Wales Mainline while other national services connect Cardiff with Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Southampton and Portsmouth.
Recently there have also been improvements to the north-south Wales rail network and there are now services every 2 hours that connect Wrexham, Llandudno and Holyhead in North Wales to Cardiff and the South.
It is conveniently located right next to Central Bus Station on Wood Street, less than 5 minutes walk from the St. Mary's Street and Queen Street, the main shopping district in Cardiff.
Suburban Rail
Cardiff has an extensive suburban rail metro system operated by Arriva Trains Wales known as Valley Lines. With Cardiff Queen Street as the hub, it connects Cardiff's northern, southern and northwestern suburbs to the city centre. There are seven lines that connect Central and Queen Street stations to stations in the city and they areas beyond, whilst other lines connect Cardiff to towns around South Wales.
Bus
Most of Cardiff's bus services operate from Central Bus Station on Wood Street.
National
Stand A at Central Station is used for services to destinations outside Cardiff and the Vales such as TrawsCambria X40 to Aberystwyth, Shuttle 100 to Swansea, Stagecoach services to the Valleys and all National Express Services (e.g. Birmingham, London, Leeds). The Megabus service to London stops outside Cardiff Castle on Castle Street.
Local
Cardiff Bus uses stands B, C, D, E, F and W at Central Station and Wood Street. Other bus stops in the city are located in Westgate Street, St. Mary Street, Castle Street, Kingsway, Greyfriars Road, Dumfries Place and Queen Street Station.
Park and ride
Park and ride services are operated at weekends from County Hall, Crown Way and Leckwith to the city centre.
Water
A waterbus runs every hour between the city centre (Taff Mead Embankment) and Cardiff Bay (Mermaid Quay), and between Cardiff Bay and Penarth (Cardiff Bay barrage).
Air
Airport
Cardiff, as well as South and West Wales, is served by Cardiff International Airport. Scheduled, Charter, and low-cost flights are operated on a regular basis to Anglesey, other UK destinations, Europe and North America all year round. It is located at Rhoose, south west of the city and is linked via train (Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station) and bus to Cardiff Central bus station.
Heliport
The Cardiff Heliport is the main operating base of police support services, and can handle considerable passenger traffic, especially during major sporting events as the Millennium Stadium.
Future Plans
There are a number of plans in Cardiff to help facilitate traffic into the city centre and reduce chronic congestion that has plagued the city in recent years.
Road
There are plans to complete the outer ring road, by completing the Eastern Bay Link Road which will help transport into Cardiff Bay and reduce congestion in the city centre. However the cost of the project has delayed construction and there is still no date for when it will commence.
By 2009 the M4 motorway will have been expanded to 3-lanes on both sides between junctions 30 and 32 helping to ease chronic congestion on this part of the motorway.
There are also plans to begin Park and Ride services between the New Cardiff City stadium and a new site at Llanrumney by 2009, helping to ease city centre congestion. In fact the council has proposed on a number of occasions a Congestion charge during the morning and afternoon peak to discourage motorists in the city centre.
Rail and Light Rail
There are plans to open more railway stations on existing lines in order to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and help reduce city centre congestion. By 2008 services on the Merthyr Line will double to 2 per hour and a new link to Ebbw Vale will commence, further improving frequencies with Pontypridd and Caerphilly to 7 per hour and 5 per hour respectively.
Also of note is the long-held plan to introduce a light rail line connecting Cardiff Bay. However it is likely to have been shelved due to rising costs. Work on the new transport interchange to replace the central bus station began in January 2008.
