page_title: Cardiff Central railway station
section_title: Station layout and platforms
hierarchical_section_title: Cardiff Central railway station / Station layout and platforms
caption_attribution_description: English: Cardiff Central railway station. Sign to platforms 3, 4 and 5 in the passenger subway.
context_page_description: Cardiff Central railway station is a major station on the South Wales Main Line, located in the capital of Wales, Cardiff. It is one of the city's two urban rail network hubs, along with Cardiff Queen Street. Opened in 1850 as Cardiff station, it was renamed Cardiff General in 1924, and then Cardiff Central in 1973.
  The station is located at Central Square, in Cardiff city centre. The Grade II listed building is managed by Transport for Wales, and is both the largest and busiest station in Wales.
  Cardiff Central is one of twenty railway stations in the city and one of two in the city centre, serving as a hub for the Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes. It is an interchange for services between South Wales, West Wales and North Wales, as well as other major British cities.
  Transport for Wales operates services to most destinations in Wales and to Manchester; while CrossCountry operates trains to Gloucester, Birmingham and Nottingham. Great Western Railway runs all London Paddington intercity services via Bristol and to Swansea, as well as some regional services to Bath, Taunton and Portsmouth via Southampton Central;
context_section_description: There are two entrances to the station. The northern main entrance leads to the main concourse and is on Central Square. The Millennium Stadium is a short distance to the northwest.
  The southern entrance is at the rear of the station on Tresillian Way, accessed from Penarth Road, where the station car park is found.
  The railway lines are above the station concourses. Two subways, one each at the eastern and western side of the station, run parallel under the tracks linking the two main entrances, from which the platforms are accessed by stairs and lifts, with the exception of Platform 0 which is accessed from the main concourse near Marks and Spencer.
  Cardiff Central has eight platforms, numbered 0, 1, 2, 3a/b, 4a/b, 6, 7 and 8. There is no longer, despite signage, a Platform 5; this was a west-facing bay platform situated between Platforms 3 and 4 which was removed in the 1960s. Platform 0, a short through platform at the north of the station was created in 1999.
  The station has ten tracks running through it. All but two of the tracks have an adjacent platform, and the remaining two are through lines for goods trains and other non-stopping traffic.
  Platforms 3 and 4 are divided into 'A' and 'B' sections and are capable of holding two local trains or a nine car Class 800 train. Other platforms can be used by more than one train, but are not sectioned.
  Platforms 6 to 8 at the south side of the station are used by Valley Lines trains between Cardiff Queen Street, the north of Cardiff, the Valleys, and the Vale of Glamorgan.
  Platforms 0 to 4 are typically used by longer distance regional and national services operated by Transport for Wales, Great Western Railway, and CrossCountry to destinations including  London Paddington, Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Carmarthen, Derby, Gloucester, Manchester Piccadilly, Milford Haven, Liverpool Lime Street, Portsmouth Harbour, Swansea, Holyhead and Chester.
  To the West of the station lies Canton TMD, operated by Transport for Wales, as well as the junction splitting trains to Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan, Swansea, and Valley line services via Ninian Park and Radyr.  To the East of the station lies Cardiff Queen Street (for Cardiff local and Valley Line services), and the mainline toward Newport, Bristol and London.
caption: 1930s signage to platforms, indicating the now non-existent platform 5
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