Cathays Railway Station

The best thing about this station in the heart of studentsville isn’t actually anything to do with the train services themselves. It’s the handy footbridge that provides a great shortcut to get from one side of Cardiff University to the other. It’s a pretty interesting alternative view of the area from the top too, gazing down the line. The station itself is nothing to write home about: a simple two platforms, one for trains toward the valleys, the other for those returning toward the city centre. The car park looks like waste ground and in terms of facilities a walk to one of Cathays’ local corner shops or takeaways for a snack is about your only option (unless the student union shop is open for a cheeky purchase). But it still knocks spots off the nonexistent rail service in nearby Roath: the campaign to remedy that little transport oversight starts here…

Here is another of those mini stations in Cardiff, that aren’t going to blow your mind, but it would be nice if your ticket booth was occasionally open to save the hassle of being interrogated by the ticket inspector. There are no vending machines or anything like that, it’s pretty much a bare station, but what more can you really expect from these tiny commuter stations.
I tiny station situated in the middle of student land, this station will generally be waited at by well, you guessed it, students. It is a good station to reach the student’s union or the areas of Cathays and Roath.
This does feel like a safe station, it will never get overly busy and has nice little bus shelter type seats to sit on. I use this station often to get to Cardiff Central station or Cardiff Bay, you can also use it to travel to mid Wales.

One of the funny things I’ve noticed about Cardiff is that you have these small railways stations doted all over the city, yet there is no ‘city circle line’ or a regular train that can take you to a different side of the city. Cathays station would fit well its small, has a ticket machine and is right next to the a mainly student populated area.
Although it’s about a twenty five minute walk into the city centre for me (ten minutes taken up by getting to the station) I can sometimes afford to be lazy and take the train into the city centre. The alley along the side of Cathays is well lit at night, although I still wouldn’t advise walking there in the dead of night alone.
I have never witnessed Cathays with a person manning the tickets so I was quite surprised to learn of this from the other reviews! It may also be worth noting that the station is directly next to the Student Union bar and opposite one of the great Cardiff student pubs The Woodville.

Cathays Railway Station basically has no facilities except a ticket office (manned part time) and a self-​service ticket machine, but the good thing about it is that it’s in a safe, residential area where you won’t feel threatened hanging around waiting for a train.
It only gets busy on the platforms during peak travel times when people are using this line to get to and from the Valleys in one direction, and to and from the city centre in the other direction.
It’s very convenient for anyone working or studying at the University, which surrounds the station, or for those living in Cathays, as it offers a good alternative to a taxi if you want to get into town quickly without the walk — particularly if you have heavy bags to carry.

I was torn between whether I should give Cathays Railway Station three stars or four. After all, there isn’t actually anything here. I don’t think that there is even a vending machine. However, after a little fight with myself, convenience won. This railway station is a little hidden gem, found behind the Park Place gym and very close to the centre of Cathays. It is, then, in an absolutely ideal spot if you want to go somewhere local. Or, if you are going futher afield and need Cardiff Central but you have lots of bags (or are a little bit lazy…) then this station offers a cheap alternative to a taxi (this is a good thing — the taxis to the station are extortionate).So, in the end, it doesn’t really matter that there’s nothing here (although cover on both sides would be good — we are in Wales) because it’s just so convenient.