The Anonymous Widower

Will the Liverpool Street Rebuild Include Elizabeth Line Improvements?

I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post and received this reply.

Yes, the proposed redevelopment of London Liverpool Street Station includes improvements to integration with the Elizabeth line, aiming for a fully accessible, multi-modal, and spacious hub. The plans focus on better connecting the main concourse with the Elizabeth line, Underground, and local transport, alongside doubling the concourse size, adding new, more efficient lifts, and increasing the number of ticket barriers.

February 13, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Will The Liverpool Street Rebuild Have More Platforms?

I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post and received this reply.

The approved £1bn+ redevelopment of London Liverpool Street Station, greenlit in February 2026, focuses on increasing capacity and accessibility rather than adding new platforms. The plans, to be completed by mid-2036, involve enlarging the concourse by 76%, increasing lifts/escalators, and providing step-free access to all existing platforms.

Platform Changes: While there is no mention of increasing the total number of train platforms, the project will significantly improve access and reduce congestion.

Capacity Enhancements: The project includes a 76% increase in concourse capacity.

Infrastructure Upgrades: Escalators will increase from four to ten, and eight new lifts will be installed.

Accessibility: The project aims to provide full step-free access across all rail and underground platforms.

New Construction: A large, multi-story office building is planned above the station, and the concourse area will be redesigned for better flow.

The project aims to handle over 200 million passengers annually by the time it is finished.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the layout of tracks in the station.

Note.

  1. The square block in the middle of the map are Platforms 1-18 of the main station.
  2. Eighteen is in the East and 1 is in the West.
  3. The Central Line of the London Underground runs diagonally in blue under the main station.
  4. Running in orange from the West to the North-East in front of the station is the Elizabeth Line.
  5. Running South of Lizzie in blue are the sub-surface lines of the London Underground.

I wonder, if at some point in the distant future, a terminal platform or two could be added to the very deep Elizabeth Line, that connected to tunnels underneath Liverpool Street station.

This second OpenRailwayMap shows the sub-surface lines and the Elizabeth Line, as they pass across in front of Liverpool Street station.

Note.

  1. Moorgate Station is in the North-West corner of the map
  2. Moorgate Statation has two virtually unused west facing bay platforms.
  3. The sub-surface lines are shown in blue.
  4. The Elizabeth Line is shown in orange.
  5. Finsbury Circus is in the middle of the map, with the sub-surface lines underneath.
  6. The Central Line is shown in blue and crosses between Finsbury Square and Liverpool Street station on its way to Bank.
  7. In front of Liverpool Street station, there is a disused bay platform on the sub-surface lines.
  8. The Bank branch of the Northern Line and the Great Northern run North from Moorgate station.
  9. Access to the Great Northern could be improved.

I feel there is scope for more trains to be run on the sub-surface lines through Moorgate and Liverpool Street.

  • Accessibility to the sub-surface lines at Moorgate and Liverpool Street station could be improved.
  • There has been talk of extending some services to Barking.

There is certainly scope to improve the sub-surface lines.

February 13, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Northern Launches New Yorkshire Flyer Fast Service Between Leeds And Sheffield

The title of this post is the same as that of this news item from Northern Trains.

This is the sub-heading.

Northern is running a new fast service which allows customers to travel between Leeds and Sheffield in 47 minutes.

These three introductory paragraphs add more detail.

Known as the Yorkshire Flyer, as it provides a quick and convenient connection between the White Rose county’s two biggest cities, the service was officially launched during an event at Leeds station earlier today.

Cutting journey times and providing more than 30,000 extra seats a week, the service will support economic growth by making it easier for people to get to work and reach new opportunities.

It used to take all Northern customers around an hour or longer to make the journey, with trains calling at various stops along the way.

These further details come from Real Time Trains.

  1. The trains used appear to be two-car Class 158 trains.
  2. The total distance is 38.7 miles.
  3. Between Leeds station and South Kirkby junction is electrified and a distance of 20.6 miles.
  4. Trains appear to leave Leeds station at xx45.
  5. CrossCountry services Leeds station for Sheffield at xx15 and make a similar intermediate stop at Wakefield Westgate.
  6. Leeds trains for Sheffield seem to leave from Platform 12 or 12A.
  7. Trains appear to leave  Sheffield station at xx52.
  8. CrossCountry services leave Sheffield station for Leeds at xx22 and make a similar intermediate stop at Wakefield Westgate.
  9. Sheffield trains for Leeds don’t seem to have such a regular platform, as those in the other direction. But I suppose that will be improved.

Effectively, Northern and CrossCountry have paired up two services to give a two trains per hour, fast service between Leeds and Sheffield with one stop at Wakefield Westgate.

I have some further thoughts.

The Route Could Be Run By Battery-Electric Trains

Consider.

  • The only part of the route that is not electrified is the 18.1 miles between South Kirkby junction and Sheffield station.
  • From talking to engineers, who are working on developing battery-electric trains, a three-car train with a battery range of fifty miles is already a possibility.
  • In 2015, I actually rode on a four-car battery-electric Class 379 train, that ran reliably on the Harwich branch for three months.
  • Merseyrail’s battery-electric Class 777 trains probably have the performance and are working reliably on Merseyside. But they are probably a bit slow.

I believe that any number of train manufacturers would be very pleased to provide new battery-electric trains for the route.

But Siemens must be in the prime position.

  • The German company has built a £200 million train factory at Goole in East Yorkshire, which is currently building London’s Piccadilly Line trains, which have batteries.
  • Siemens have already delivered trains in Germany using the technology, they would use in the UK.
  • The battery charging technology they would use for other routes in the UK, is described in Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks.
  • Sheffield and Leeds, would make a superb test and demonstration route for battery-electric trains, as 50% of the route is fully-electrified with 25 KVAC.
  • The Sheffield and Leeds route is just down the track from the Goole factory.
  • I wouldn’t be very surprised, if Siemens were very keen to get a few orders close to their factory, as they would surely be easy to support.

But the clincher must be Juergen Maier, who used to be CEO of Siemens UK, and is now Chair of Great British Energy. Maier holds both British and Austrian citizenship, and was educated in Leeds and Nottingham, so hopefully, he can give this clanger-prone government some excellent advice where they need it, from his position in Great British Energy.

Could A Stop Be Made At Meadowbank Station?

This would give access to other rail routes and the Sheffield Supertram, but most of this access could also be performed at Sheffield.

Looking at the timetable of the route, I feel that there is enough slack to fit in a stop at Meadowhall, but it would need for the route to be electrified, so that the trains had faster acceleration and deceleration.

However, battery-electric trains may have the required performance.

What Maximum Speed Would The Trains Need?

Consider.

  • The current Class 158 diesel trains used between Sheffield and Leeds and in many places in the UK are 90 mph trains.
  • There are also a large number of Class 170 trains in the UK, that will need to be replaced and these are 100 mph trains.
  • The Sheffield and Leeds route has some sections of 85 mph running.
  • Train speeds are all accurately computer-controlled.

As a Control Engineer for safety and route availability reasons, I believe the trains will have a 100 mph maximum speed, but train speed will be computer controlled.

Will The Trains Be Driver-Only Operated?

I asked Google AI if Hitachi IET trains are driver only operated (DOO) and received this reply.

Hitachi Intercity Express Trains (IETs, Class 800/802) are designed for versatile operation, capable of Driver-Only Operation (DOO) using in-cab CCTV monitors for door safety checks. While they can operate without a guard, many services, particularly on GWR, still retain a guard on board for passenger service duties, even if the driver controls the doors.

So Hitachi trains can be driver-only operated and these will surely share the tracks with the trains that work the Northern Flyer.

I asked Google AI if Thameslink trains are driver only operated (DOO) and received this reply.

Yes, all Thameslink train services are Driver Only Operated (DOO). This means the driver is solely responsible for operating the doors and ensuring the safe dispatch of the train, without a guard or conductor on board to manage the doors. Through the central London core, these trains often use Automatic Train Operation (ATO).

As I believe that Siemens would be likely to win the battery-electric train order, because of proven technology, factory location and influence of Juergen Maier, Siemens certainly have the ability to produce trains, that are driver-only operated.

I believe that, whoever builds the trains, they will be capable of driver-only operation.

But if driver-only operation is to be used will be down to politics.

  • Because of the situation on East West Rail, Heidi Alexander will probably be in favour.
  • The Tories and Liberal Democrats will also be in favour.
  • The rail unions, the left wing of the Labour Party and the Greens will be strongly against.
  • Farage and Reform UK will take a very hard line to enforce driver-only operation everywhere.

The average citizen on the Northern Flyer and all the other trains in the UK, will just want a reliable train service.

Conclusion

  • This would make a superb route for a battery electric train.
  • No chargers or extra electrification would need to be installed.
  • There wouldn’t be much work needed to be done to the platforms or the signalling.
  • The trains would use standard 25 KVAC overhead electrification for charging.
  • The trains would be running close to where they were built.

I believe the new service will give a large boost to the Yorkshire economy. Even before the arrival of battery-electric trains.

 

 

 

February 10, 2026 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Delays To Opening Makes Station A ‘Laughing Stock’

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Residents of Winslow are frustrated a new railway station completed over a year ago has still not opened.

These three introductory paragraphs add detail to the article.

A local councillor said it had been due to open in the Buckinghamshire town in December 2025 but there had been a “comedy of errors”, including a row over who will control the opening and closing of carriage doors.

Diana Blamires, who sits on the town council, said the local community was “obviously furious” and “it makes Winslow station a laughing stock”.

In a statement, Chiltern Railways – responsible for operating services between Oxford and Milton Keynes – said no date for the opening had yet been confirmed.

My feeling is that this project has been badly affected by two many adverse factors.

The planning for East West Rail hasn’t been good

But another story on the BBC, which is entitled How The Elizabeth Line Has Changed Reading, has to my mind shown up the poor quality of the planning for the East West Rail.

This Is the sub-heading.

Since the Elizabeth Line opened in May 2022 it has become the UK’s busiest rail service with an estimated 750 million passenger journeys.

And this is the first paragraph.

The line provides a direct service from Reading into central London, but after years of planning and delays is the Berkshire town finally feeling the benefits of an additional connection to the capital?

Are Bicester, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford and other places going to feel a similar effect to Reading, because the railway track layouts say that if Reading gets a boost from the Elizabeth Line, then they will get one from East West Rail!

The Reading/Oxford area is where the East West and Elizabeth Lines make contact and I predict, that if in the future, you want a machine to test the strength of jelly, this will be the place, where you will go to get one invented.

February 9, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel, Design | , , , , , | 2 Comments

I Have Just Been WordPressed

My method of using WordPress is to use the Classic editor because, that was how I started and many of the original posts were created with it.

I also do some actions with galleries, which now the program seems to have banned.

Rule one of writing software is never to go back on your original design and change things that they habitually do.

Some big software manufacturers do it all the time and I’m sure it does them harm.

As an example, who remembers the company; Wordstar, but loads of people remember and use Control-C, Control-V, Control-X, Control-Z etc.

The solution is to get the design right first time.

WordPress are driving me nuts, by my not being able to edit my post ; The Ultimate Recycled Electric Local Train.

I particularly want to get the gallery in the post into order. If I try to move the last picture into position zero, I can do it and it even stays there when I update the gallery. But if I go back to do another move, the picture is back to the old place.

That looks like a Grade A Bug to me! Fix It!

January 31, 2026 Posted by | Computing, Design | | Leave a comment

The Ultimate Recycled Electric Local Train

This morning, I took a ride across London to ride in the first Class 230 train in public service in London.

I took these pictures of the new block of flats going up at West Ealing station, the charging system for the train and the train.

 

Note.

  1. The train is three-cars with a toilet to suit everybody, except possibly Donald Trump, who’d want it in gold.
  2. The single train is shuttling between West Ealing and Greenford stations.
  3. Each journey 2.5 mile journey takes eleven minutes.

I was surprised at the number of tables and the quality of the seats.

 

These are some extra thoughts.

The Blocks Of Flats

Google AI gave me this.

Several new developments around West Ealing station feature tall blocks, with major proposals ranging from 4 to 26 storeys. Key projects include a 26-storey tower, proposed 19–22 storey towers on Manor Road/Waitrose site, and 7–21 storey student accommodation blocks. These, along with other 9-storey developments, are transforming the area into a high-density “transport hub” cluster.

I think the 26-storey West 55 Tower is shown in the first two pictures.

Google AI also says some of the natives are not happy about all the towers.

But I like the “high density” transport hub.

Integrating The Railway And The Housing

Note.

  1. This would appear to be a good example of integrating the railway and the housing.
  2. The second picture appears to show a walkway between the station and Tower 55.
  3. I met a property developer on a train once and he told me, that housing on top of stations without car parking, had better numbers all round, with more flats, less cost and good profit.
  4. I wonder, if Tower 55, is one of his? He was certainly enthusiastic about the concept.
  5. Would a Fast-Charge system be easier and very much safer to squeeze in than traditional overhead wiring?

If the flats all don’t have garages, there must be space for other uses.

The Charger At Work

Note.

  1. The third to the sixth pictures, show the train coming into the station and charging ready for a trip to Greenford.
  2. The train acts as a heavy safety guard during the process.
  3. Anything electrical or dangerous is underneath the train.

I would expect that a health and safety expert, would rate the train no more dangerous than a normal train.

There Seems To Have Been A Lot Of Innovative Recycling On The Train

This certainly seems to apply to the seats, which in some cases are the originals remodeled.

A Stylish And Well-Built Train

This phrase would sum up my overall view of the train.

I have a Korean son-in-law and I know a bit, how Koreans think about design.

I would think, that he would like this as it is a stylish and practical train, so it wouldn’t embarrass you or your Korean boss, if you told him to use this train in the UK, to get to your offices.

Using my Korean example, I suspect, that this train could be one that endears itself to its passengers, with its quirky and practical feel, just like the original Mini did.

Adrian Shooter Would Be Pleased

Most Certainly!

I wish all the team well, as I believe this technology and a few trains like 230001 will make their mark on the world.

A Practical Hundred Mile Battery-Electric Route

The Sheffield and Scunthorpe Line is a Parliamentary Service.

  1. It is 71.6 miles over 1 hour and 48 minutes, through seven stations of the Lincolnshire countryside, at an average speed of 40 mph.
  2. Currently, it runs once per day, which is not very ideal for a job, education, training, shopping or visiting grandchildren.
  3. A two-car version of 230001 could be ideal to perhaps do four round or five trips a day and level-up some of the poorer parts of the UK, that don’t even have a decent bus service.
  4. A similar two-car train could also serve the 45-mile round-trip Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber service.

I am sure that this train could start the right sort of rural or urban revolution.

January 31, 2026 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

FirstGroup Adds Leeds-based J&B Travel To Growing Coach Portfolio

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Route One.

These two paragraphs add more detail.

J&B Travel of Leeds is the latest coach business to be acquired by FirstGroup.

The operator, which has been established for more than 40 years, has a fleet of 15 vehicles, with work including home-to-school, private hire and FlixBus contracts.

 

But in some ways, the most significant thing not mentioned is that FirstGroup have now acquired seven coach firms.

  • AndersonTravel in London
  • EnsignBus in London
  • J & B Travel in Leeds
  • Matthews Coaches in County Monaghan, Ireland
  • Tetley’s Coaches in Leeds
  • York Pullman in Harrogate, Hull, Leeds and York

Note.

  1. MatthewsCoaches are about halfway between Dublin and Belfast.
  2. Three of the English acquisitions are in Yorkshire and two are in London.
  3. Leeds isn’t far off being halfway between London and Central Scotland.

This looks like the first part of a master plan.

  • Leeds and County Monaghan could be ideal refuelling points for zero-carbon coaches.
  • Ferrybridge, just South of Leeds is getting a hydrogen-fired power station.
  • Ferrybridge is a big site with a motorway service station on the M1.
  • Wrightbus are building an electrolyser at Ballymena, which is 81 miles from Matthews Coaches.
  • Wrightbus have said that Dublin and Cork would be an ideal route for a hydrogen coach.
  • Wrightbus have said that Heathrow and Gatwick would be an ideal route for a hydrogen coach.

This plan could be built-on with routes to various cities and attractions.

I have some further sorts and questions.

Could The First Obvious Routes Be Run By Hydrogen Coaches?

From what Wrightbus have indicated, I would rate the obvious routes as.

  • Dublin and Belfast – 103 miles or 206 miles round trip
  • Dublin and Cork – 107 miles or 340 miles round trip
  • Leeds and Glasgow – 224 miles or 448 miles round trip
  • Leeds and Edinburgh – 222 miles or 444 miles round trip
  • Leeds and London – 197 miles or 396 miles round trip
  • Heathrow and Gatwick – 40 miles or 80 miles round trip

Note.

The longest route is 714.5 km.

It would appear that, if the hydrogen-powered coach had a range of 1,000 km. all routes would be possible.

How Far Would A Hydrogen Coach Get On A Tankful From London?

A thousand kilometres is 621.4 miles.

These are the distances from Scottish cities to London.

  • Aberdeen – 537 miles
  • Dundee – 472 miles
  • Dunfermline – 430 miles
  • Edinburgh – 410 miles
  • Glasgow – 404 miles
  • Inverness – 561 miles
  • John O ‘Groats – 678 miles
  • Perth – 451 miles
  • Stirling – 418 miles

I’ve added John O’Groats for completeness, but all cities would be reached.

How Far Would A Hydrogen Coach Get On A Tankful Going West From London?

These are the distances from Western towns and cities to London.

  • Aberystwyth – 236 miles
  • Fishguard – 255 miles
  • Holyhead – 289 miles
  • Lands End – 310 miles
  • Penzance – 307 miles

I’ve added Lands End for completeness, but all towns and cities would be reached.

John O’Groats And Lands End In A Hydrogen Coach

I asked Google AI how far the journey was and received this answer.

The distance from Land’s End to John o’ Groats varies by transport: about 837-874 miles (1347-1407 km) by road, roughly 600 miles (970 km) as the crow flies, and around 1,200 miles (1900 km) for an off-road walking route, with cyclists typically taking 10-14 days and walkers 2-3 months.

So it looks, like there will be a need for a refuel, but that would give 2,000 kilometres, which is more than the 1,347-1,407 kilometres needed.

Ferrybridge Could Be An Ideal Refuelling Point

I suspect, even in fifty years you could name the places in the UK, where you will be certain of refuelling any hydrogen vehicle on the fingers of one hand.

The list would include.

  • Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, where SSE are building a hydrogen-fired power station.
  • Felixstowe Docks in Suffolk, where there will be a need to fuel hydrogen trucks.
  • Keadby in Lincolnshire, where SSE are building a hydrogen-fired power station.
  • Kintore in Aberdeenshire, where an electrolyser is being built.
  • Runcorn in Cheshire, where there was an electrolyser in 1968, when I worked there.

This web site lists all the UK hydrogen projects.

This Google Map shows the location of the Ferrybridge hydrogen-powered power station site in relation to Barnsley, Doncaster, Leeds and other towns and cities of Yorkshire.

Note.

  1. The red arrow indicates the former coal-fired power station site.
  2. Leeds is in the North-West corner of the map.
  3. Barnsley and Stocksbridge are in the South-West corner of the map.
  4. The city of Sheffield is to the South-West of Stocksbridge.
  5. Doncaster is in the South-East corner of the map.

Last September I wrote Visiting The Consultation For Ferrybridge Next Generation Power Station At Knottingley.

In that post, I wrote about supplying both the power station and the motorway services with hydrogen and felt that it could use one of two methods.

  • A pipeline from the hydrogen storage in East Yorkshire.
  • Some form of train from a hydrogen production site.

Recently, Network Rail have been conducting tests on the movement of hydrogen by train, which I wrote about in Network Rail’s Test Track Take Centre Stage As Hydrogen Is Delivered By Rail For The First Time.

The Ferrybridge Site Has most things needed.

This map shows the site.

Note.

  1. The impressive motorway junction, where the North-South M1 crosses the East-West M62.
  2. Liverpool and Manchester are to the West.
  3. Leeds, Newcastle and Scotland is to the North.
  4. Hull is to the East.
  5. London is to the South.
  6. There is a Moto Services.
  7. There is a Premier Inn.

There is even two railway stations on the map.

This reply from Google AI gives the details of the  distance between Ferrybridge and the South-West.

The driving distance from Ferrybridge, Yorkshire, to Land’s End is roughly 470 to 500 miles, taking about 8-9 hours, primarily via motorways like the M1, M5, and A30, though exact times and routes vary by real-time traffic and specific starting/ending points.

I am absolutely certain, that if you have a vehicle like a hydrogen coach and you want to go anywhere between A to B on the UK mainland, then if there is hydrogen-refuelling at Ferrybridge, you will be able too do the journey with a refuel at Ferrybridge.

December 30, 2025 Posted by | Design, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Back To The Future With BYD Double-Deck Buses

Arriva run the 141 bus route for transport for London and today they must have been short of buses, as this older Wrightbus on a heritage number plate had been pressed into service.

The four pictures of an older Wrightbus hybrid bus, were taken on Moorgate this morning, when it was substituting for a newly-delivered BYD battery-electric bus on route 141.

As I tapped in, I made a remark to the driver about reliability of the Chinese buses and he smiled a knowing smile.

As an engineer and designer, I would list the design faults on the BYD double-deck buses as follows.

  1. The batteries don’t give the buses a long enough range.
  2. The buses don’t handle cold weather very well.
  3. The step into and out of the bus is too high for elderly people and is not the same as other London buses.
  4. The seating is more comfortable in AlexanderDennis, Evo-Seti and Wrightbus buses.
  5. The seats are also too narrow.
  6. The seats at the back downstairs are pokey, because of the position of the batteries.
  7. There is no rear view downstairs, which makes using the Mayor’s promoted Hopper Fare, which lets you take unlimited bus and tram journeys for £1.75 within one hour of your first tap-in, more difficult.
  8. The stop displays are unreliable.
  9. The buses don’t have enough seats for the 141 route.

But perhaps most importantly, few passengers have a good word for the buses.

December 22, 2025 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Life-Saving Baby Incubators Uused In Ukraine Pass The NHS Test

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article from The Times.

This is the sub-heading.

The devices made by Mom Incubators weigh a fraction of existing models, making them highly mobile and perfect to use on maternity wards.

 

The incubator was developed as a final year student project.

  • James Roberts founded Mom Incubators in 2014.
  • Backers include Sir James Dyson and Holly Branson.
  • The incubators have been used in England, Haiti, India, Kenya, the Philippines, Scotland, Uganda, Ukraine, US and Tanzania.
  • This is a really wonderful story, which shows the value of good design and keeping the weight down.

James Roberts intends to repeat the excercise with other medical devices.

 

December 19, 2025 Posted by | Design, Health | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Major Revamp Of Wales’ Busiest Station Gets Go-Ahead

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Plans for a major revamp of Wales’ busiest railway station have received final approval.

These three paragraphs add more details.

The £140m upgrades to Cardiff Central – including a new brick arch rear entrance, larger concourse and improved waiting areas – aim to support passenger growth and reduce overcrowding.

Better accessibility for people with reduced mobility and additional retail and cycle facilities are also among the changes.

Work is due to start in the middle of next year with the aim of completing most of it within three years.

Note.

  1. The new entrance on the south side of the station, was opened in September 2015.
  2. A new Platform 8 was added in 2017, which allows sixteen local trains per hour to run between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street stations, to serve the twenty railway stations in the city.
  3. All platforms are bi-directional, which surely improves the flexibility of the rail network in Cardiff City centre.
  4. Access from the station to the Principality Stadium has improved greatly in recent years.
  5. The station will remain open during the works.

Cardiff’s railways are a comprehensive mix of local and inter-city trains.

I have some thoughts on Cardiff Station.

The Cardiff & Valleys Day Ranger

This very useful ticket, is the ideal way to explore the Cardiff and Valleys area and I’ve used it several times.

  • I usually buy it from one of the two ticket offices in Cardiff Central station, but in one case, I did buy it in Paddington to save time.
  • According to Transport for Wales, you can buy it on a local train from the conductor.
  • It costs about £16 for an adult, but railcard apply.

I actually find taking a train up the valleys, is a good way to clean out my lungs.

Sights To See On The Cardiff & Valleys Lines

Google AI makes these suggestions.

The Cardiff & Valleys Lines offer historic castles (Cardiff, Caerphilly, Castell Coch), world-class museums (St Fagans, National Museum Cardiff, Big Pit), industrial heritage (Rhondda Heritage Park, Royal Mint Experience), and stunning nature in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, with scenic railway journeys connecting these sites for history, culture, and outdoor adventure.

Hopefully, when the new Stadler trains and tram-trains are fully operational on the Cardiff & Valleys Lines, someone will write a full guide.

 

 

December 13, 2025 Posted by | Artificial Intelligence, Design, Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment