Arriving by Train

High-speed InterCity trains link most cities around the country with Cardiff. The journey time from London Paddington to Cardiff is just over two hours and leaves every 30 minutes during the day, via First Great Western.

If you are arriving in Cardiff by train, you will probably arrive at Cardiff's Central Train Station, Wales' busiest train station. The Grade II listed building is in the centre of Cardiff and is minutes away from the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff's major shopping areas and hotels.

If you want to continue your journey to Cardiff Bay, you can either alight at Cardiff Central and hop on a Bendy Bus (see new 'Baycar' Bendy Bus route here), or continue to Cardiff Queen Street Station to change trains.

As well as connecting the city centre to the Bay, Cardiff Queen Street Station connects the city to the Valleys. Queen Street Station is located at the end of Queen Street, the city's main pedestrianised shopping street.

Improvements to the Cardiff & Valleys Rail Network & Christmas Travel

You will soon see work happening at Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations, improving the entrances and the addition of new platforms.

This work will also improve reliability and capacity on the Cardiff and Valleys rail network. The £220 million project is jointly funded by Network Rail and the Welsh Government

The project, scheduled to be completed by 2015, will ‘future proof’ the railway by increasing capacity for potential future passenger services. It will also provide a more robust and flexible infrastructure in order to maintain and improve train reliability and punctuality.

Operational changes to Cardiff Queen Street station between 27th December 2012 and 18th January 2013

Network Rail will be doing major improvement work to Cardiff Queen Street station between 27th December 2012 and 18th January 2013 and there will be some changes to the way the station operates during this period. There will be additional staff at the station to assist passengers. Due to changes in operation, passengers may be required to queue for longer whilst exiting the station, if they have not purchased their ticket before arriving at Cardiff Queen Street. Find out more.

Please check your Christmas journey details before you travel.

www.journeycheck.com/arrivatrainswales
www.journeycheck.com/fgw

Arriving by bus or Coach

Cardiff bus station is located adjacent to Cardiff Central Station and is the central hub for buses and coaches arriving from outside Cardiff. You can travel to Cardiff by National Express Coach from most UK cities.

There are also Megabus routes into Cardiff from London, Swansea, Birmingham Airport, Manchester and Newcastle. The Megabus stops at Kingsway, just opposite the Hilton Hotel.

To find out how to get around Cardiff, click here.