page_title: Penarth
section_title: Transport
hierarchical_section_title: Penarth / Transport
caption_attribution_description: Cardiff, Cogan, Penarth, Heath &amp; Taffs Well Railway Junction Diagram
context_page_description: Penarth is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 4 miles southwest of Cardiff city centre on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is the wealthiest seaside resort in the Cardiff Urban Area, and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the administrative centre of Barry.
  During the Victorian era Penarth was a highly popular holiday destination, promoted nationally as "The Garden by the Sea" and was packed by visitors from the Midlands and the West Country as well as day trippers from the South Wales valleys, mostly arriving by train. Today, the town, with its traditional seafront, continues to be a regular summer holiday destination, but their numbers are much lower than was common from Victorian times until the 1960s, when cheap overseas package holidays were introduced.
  Although the number of holiday visitors has greatly declined, the town retains a substantial retired population, representing over 25% of residents, but Penarth is now predominantly a dormitory town for Cardiff commuters. The town's population was recorded as 20,396 in the United Kingdom Census 2001.
context_section_description: Penarth railway station serves the town and is the terminus of the Penarth branch of the Vale of Glamorgan Line from Cardiff. It is on an extension of the line originally built by the Taff Vale Railway in 1865 to serve the newly created docks. Penarth Dock railway station once served the docks area, but closed in 1962. All services on this line are operated by Transport for Wales as part of the Valley Lines portion of the National Rail network. Dingle Road station is also close to the town centre. The Barry branch of the Vale of Glamorgan line passes through Cogan railway station, near Cogan Leisure Centre.
  Penarth is served by Cardiff Bus services from Cardiff City Centre, with some services continuing to Barry. Penarth falls into the Cardiff fare zone for Cardiff Bus fares. Penarth is also served by First Cymru from Cardiff City Centre - Llandough which continues on to Barry.
  Penarth is linked to west Somerset and North Devon seaside resorts such as Minehead, Ilfracombe and Lundy Island by the Paddle Steamer Waverley and MV Balmoral, which have sailed from Penarth pier for over 60 years, continuing a steamer tradition that started when the pier was built. Devon's tourist trade in the late 19th century was expanded when the paddle steamers spent weekends cruising the Bristol Channel taking the South Wales tourists on cheap excursions from Penarth to places such as Lynmouth, Ilfracombe, Bideford and Clovelly. The traditional summer daily service to Weston-super-mare ceased in 1994 when Weston's Birnbeck Pier was damaged in a storm, declared unsafe and closed to visitors.
  The Cardiff Waterbus operates a passenger water taxi service daily between 10.30 am and 5.00 pm, sailing from the Penarth end of the Bay Barrage and the Mermaid Quay on Cardiff's waterfront with seven crossings at hourly intervals. The first boat leaves Penarth at 10.30 am and the last boat back departs Cardiff at 5.00 pm.
  The Pont y Werin pedestrian and cycle bridge opened in July 2010, completing a 4.2 mile circular route between Cardiff Bay and Penarth.
caption: A local rail network map from 1911
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