A £140m project to transform Cardiff Central station is expected to take a significant step forward this week
The project, which has been led by Transport for Wales, will be jointly funded by the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Welsh governments along with the Cardiff Capital Region which has ringfenced a £40m contribution from its £1.2bn City Deal.
The upgrade of the station will not add any new platform or track capacity, apart from platform zero being extended, but will provide a larger concourse to increase capacity and improve passenger access through additional gate-lines. There will also be a new entrance, with a brick arch, at its southside.
The proposed improvements aim to modernise the station, which is the busiest in Wales, while still complementing the history and heritage of the building.
It will also see a new building constructed at the west wing to house a waiting area and retail space
The project already has planning consent.
The station currently handles around 13m passengers a year but with the £1bn electrification of the core Valley Lines – which will see its first turn-up-and-go tram-trains being pressed into service next year – this could rise to more than 20m over the next decade.
The business case for the project was submitted back in the spring to the Department for Transport.
An announcement on Thursday is expected to see it moving to the delivery phase.
The work is expected to be completed ahead of the Principality Stadium hosting the opening game of the men's Euro 2028 football tournament.
The station is operated by Transport for Wales but is owned, as a non devolved asset, by Network Rail. There is a strong argument that as a result the work should be entirely funded, or significantly so, by the º£½ÇÊÓƵ Government.
Billions of pounds have been spent transforming key stations in England, such as Reading and New Street in Birmingham.
Plans to transform the station were first mooted a decade ago.
