Great Western Coffee Shop

Network Rail has today published its draft consultation document for rail investment projects in Wales and the borders.

As well as electrification of the North Wales Mainline the other standout project is a major revamp of Cardiff Central Station.

Why is the investment at the station needed?
To accommodate growing passenger levels. The current annual passenger level at the Victorian built station is 13 million, but that is forecast to reach 22 million by 2023 and 32 million by 2043.

As a key gateway into Wales the station hardly gives a positive impression to visitors to Wales for the first time. The reality is that in comparison to other leading train stations in the UK it has not had enough investment in recent years.

Cardiff Central / Caerdydd Canolog is certainly not my favourite station to arrive at. I have often been on trains waiting for a platform, and it had a contender for Worst Public Toilet in the Universe some years back. I haven't been there recently, but a few quid in investment would not go amiss.

Those toilets are little improved.

What next? Hopefully, in my opinion, a mass protest against the defacing of the north side of the station with a design that seems to be inspired by Havant Tesco (not my pic) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/7944912@N05/3467106355/). Hopefully this time the result will be better than Aberystwyth, where rather than drop the stupid new canopy from the plans in the face of objections they just redesigned it. It is marginly better than the original plans but still an insult to railway architecture.

The toilets were indeed dreadful last time I was there though, so something probably ought to be done (although that was before the work started on the new platform (platform 8 if I recall correctly) and southern enterance and I haven't been back since to know if they are putting the loos right as part of the current upgrade work). More floor space is needed too apparently but surely you don't need to ruin the (listed) building to do it. My suggestion would be to extend the building on the south side of the station instead, where the new southern enterance is going.

Whatever happens, I hope those marvellous art deco lights in the main hall do not disappear and that the Pigeon wave automata around the station clock at the west end are retained. Commissioned by Network Rail in 2002 from creator, Martin Smith. Apparently a toy train runs along it on the hour and the pigeons rise and flap in turn to avoid it, in a supposedly mexican wave. Never seen it working yet. Wales does not seem to  have a good track record with automata. I never saw the steam clock working in John Forster square in Newport, either.

Fresh plans have been drawn up for the biggest transformation of Cardiff Central railway station since it was built in the 1850s.

Last year, Network Rail released images which included a wave effect roof which but this has now been stripped back to a more standard glass fronted entrance.

There would also be new retail space and a mezzanine floor.

The work coincides with plans to revamp that area of the city centre which is where the new BBC building will be.

A new bus terminal is also being built in the area.

The earliest work on the station could start would be 2019 but Network Rail have yet to fully cost the multi-million pound plans.

Other works at the station are being carried out including a new south entrance.

Currently, 13 million people use Cardiff Central per year and that figure is expected to grow to 23 million by 2023.

Mark Langman, route managing director for Network Rail Wales, said: "Our railway is carrying almost 50% more passengers than we were 10 years ago and that number is predicted to grow significantly in the years ahead, with up to 32m passengers forecast to use Cardiff Central station by 2043.

"There is still more to do to meet future demand and to build a station fit for a capital city."

Fresh plans have been drawn up for the biggest transformation of Cardiff Central railway station since it was built in the 1850s.

Am I the only one to be sad that slowly the traditional style of platform canopies are being swept away?

Am I the only one to be sad that slowly the traditional style of platform canopies are being swept away?

Last time I was there about a month ago, Platform 8 was taking shape, but no apparent effort going on with the toilets or any other existing facilities at all. It would seem sensible to me to close the on-platform toilets to add more platform waiting space and have a central facility somewhere inside or attached to the main building which would be much more efficient to monitor and keep clean.

While a big improvement, and not quite as bad as Haverfordwest's revamped toilets (which have stainless steel toilet bowls), Cardiff Central's new loos are a disapointment (no toilet seats).

Presumably a design chosen to minimise the chances of, or impact of, vandalism?  The stainless steel bowls with no lid are practically indestructible and easy to keep looking in a reasonable state, and whilst they might not look too pretty I'd rather that than a plastic lid ripped off and lying on the floor and a cracked porcelain pan!

Presumably a design chosen to minimise the chances of, or impact of, vandalism?

In terms of the toilets, what Cardiff really needs in the long term is a central facility which is easier to monitor/maintain, rather than the dispersed small facilities (ty bach is a rather appropriate term!) dotted around the platforms.

could the entire space under the station from the east wall of the western subway* to the east end of the station be openned up and linked in with the new southern concourse?