Rail passengers in Cardiff are set to benefit from reduced congestion after a new platform was opened at the city’s central station.

The new Platform 8 was delivered as part of Network Rail’s £300M Cardiff Area Signalling Renewals programme and allows greater flexibility when running trains in and out of the station.

Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne, Wales route managing director Andy Thomas and the project team were joined by Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Infrastructure Ken Skates to witness one of the first trains departing from Platform 8 on Monday.

It will serve passengers travelling on the Penarth, Barry Island and Vale of Glamorgan lines.

The festive period also saw operatives work around the clock to replace outdated signalling with new technology and upgrade track layouts at key points on the Cardiff and the Valleys Network as part of the programme.

“This project will significantly benefit the South Wales area by providing better connectivity for passengers to travel for both work and leisure,” said Ken Skates.

Andy Thomas added: “I’m incredibly grateful to passengers for bearing with us while we delivered this vital upgrade. This is the largest and most complex signalling phase delivered to date anywhere in Britain, unlocking the potential to run 16 trains per hour into the heart of our capital city, should fleet be made available in the future.

“It has also increased operational resilience and our capacity to recover when incidents arise in the meantime.”

Elsewhere Network Rail completed a £4.5M slice of its ongoing £800M Waterloo & South West upgrade, made strong progress on the Ordsall Chord project in Manchester and delivered various West Coast Main Line upgrades on time over Christmas.

(Photo: Network Rail)