New Cardiff Central rail station revealed

I just hope the face lift given to the back of the station is temporary and they have plans to completely redesign this part. After all, if Central is meant to be in the middle of the CBD with exits to the north and south, then the entrances need to reflect this

That's a very good point.

The other point above about the bus station has also got me thinking. Does this mean that the Marland House site is now the only realistic option ?

I just hope the face lift given to the back of the station is temporary and they have plans to completely redesign this part. After all, if Central is meant to be in the middle of the CBD with exits to the north and south, then the entrances need to reflect this

That's a very good point.

The other point above about the bus station has also got me thinking. Does this mean that the Marland House site is now the only realistic option ?

I think you are right. By looking at the pics on wales online of the section to the left of the main extrance (where the taxi rank currently is) it seems to move outwards towards Marland House. Maybe the train station and bus station would connect at this point?

I've just re-read the walesonline article :

"Mr Langman said: "Our view is that a world-class multi-model transport interchange could be created on the north side and we are talking to Cardiff council and working with them on integrating plans. It is really important to us that we realise the commercial potential of the value of our estate to help make this exciting vision for the station become a reality.""

So basically they aren't interested in having the bus station south-side because the land they own can earn them far more money by building commerical space and either selling it or renting it out to tenants. All pretty logical stuff, so the council have one choice, which makes me question why when the BBC announcement was made did they bother even mentioning the south of the railway station. What it should do is bring all the stakeholders of the whole Capital Square project together right now to get the bus station issue out of the way.

The other really interesting statement was this

"Subject to approval work, the project could start in 2020. However, it is possible that construction of the multi-storey car and commercial developments on the three acres of land on the south side owned by Network could start before then"

It's an empty site at the moment, so it wouldn't shock me if they get a multi-storey built relatively quickly and then office space.

It could be a very busy area of town construction wise over the next few years.

I like the canopy. Perhaps I'm missing something but I don't really consider the current facade to be that interesting. The art deco touches to the windows and the concourse are nice but in reality the frontage is quite bland.

There would have to be an extension front and back to accommodate the proposed retail in any event and the design as per the render seems to me to be an elegant way of achieving that. Like others I hope that the front extension will still leave a reasonably sized and well designed public space between the station and the BBC building.

There seems to be a lot of plans coming to fruition at the same time for the Central Square area which does point to some sort of masterplan having been agreed by the various interested parties. So why does the cynic/realist in me say that until I'm actually having a skinny latte in Galaxy coffee this can be filed next to Bayscape, the Glass Needle and ULTRA.....

Pure development porn It links up Central Square with Callaghan Square and forces the council's hand in building the bus station on the Marland House site. I wait with bated breath as these are only visions so far but it's slowly coming together

...I suppose this makes Queen Street's redevelopment, with it's bus stop-style shelters rather underwhelming

Obviously Network Rail monitor this forum and are well aware of our constructive comments resulting in this wonderful announcement. Carwyn has been trying the same tactic with Queen St but does not realise that Arriva does not have the power to build a wonderful edifice.

Personally like the prelimary drawings seem interesting and I like the way the old station building is retained. I would like to know what is proposed for the platforms and the south side. I have a vague memory that the station including the platform canopies are grade 2 listed? That will cause complications but may explain the glass canopy.

Interesting times.

I like it. It would be good to rehouse the TIC there and looking at the wider plans for Central Square can see it fitting in well.

I think it's a stunning concept, would love to see it come to reality. The only way it will work though is if the canopy is of the highest, highest quality so that it frames and complements the original station building in a way that is equally elegant. There can be no shortcuts with this kind of idea. But if it comes off... there's no station in the UK that's done anything quite like this, I can imagine it becoming an architectural attraction in its own right.

Other then the 3 or so renders in the article, have any other images been released yet?

I'm wondering how this redevelopment will effect the station platforms, looking at this image it seams like the original canopies are staying, but it also looks like there's a new structure behind the old building that runs across the station's platforms, that has numbers on it (platform numbers presumably), maybe a bridge of some sort? Though it looks like it might extend across the width of the old station building so maybe something a bit more then that. It's difficult to see what's going on over there with all the reflections.

I really hope that Central will become a enclosed station, being open like it is now doesn't really give it the same sense of allure that you get walking though other main stations like Paddington, plus it's exposed to the elements. It would be interesting if they're going to be building a sort of canopy that goes above the old ones, maybe something that connects the old canopies together?

I also wonder how this will affect the new southern entrance they're currently building, presumably these new plans are going to integrate with that in some form, I hope.