Few corrections, Butetown station will in fact have 2 platforms, however work has not started on the 2nd platform yet. And part of the Cardiff Bay line will in fact be electrified, however this wasn't clear from the TfW map I was using for reference. Also the journey time from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff Queen St will be cut from 59 minutes to 48 minutes, which is a substantial saving.

Well done Cardiff for this bold move. I hope this will be built fairly quickly. I look forward to visiting Cardiff and using this!

I like the idea of this project. Hopefully it can blossom into a entire tram network for cardiff to co-exist with the valley lines

I live in the Cynon valley, and some stations are having toilets built so if anyone needs the loo, they can alight at that station; the disadvantage is the passenger(s) will have to wait for the next train to continue their journey.

When you consider the length of journey times on other Metro services, Elizabeth lines, and Southern lines, the lack of toilets don't seem an issue. Times will be reduced due to the acceleration, they will leave the 150's standing. When they get into service people will soon find something else to moan about. Great to see some drone footage of the Bay works and of the depot. Thanks for making this.

Great to see that tram-train networks are expanding not only in central Europe. They are great for mid-size cities like Cardiff.
Karlsruhe, a German city of similar size, was a tram-train network pioneer. It now features 17 lines, 503 km of track and 363 stops.

From an ex-pat Cardiffian- A very interesting and enjoyable presentation. It seems strange that the proposed new platforms at Cardiff Central are where the former Riverside platforms were on the line led to Clarence Road before closure. The last train that I ever saw at Riverside was an Auto-train with a Pannier tank loco. I had not seen an auto trailer coach before and the driver told me that it was a prehistoric diesel!😀

It still seems weird to me that they're using tram trains on a massive network just because of a couple of small extensions into Cardiff Bay that haven't even been approved yet. But I'm just a passenger, so what do I know? But I think a extensive tram network throughout Cardiff would be good

Although another idea I had was to use the tram trains to reinstate train services into the valleys that had them withdrawn. A lot of the old alignments have been built on - usually by roads - so adding tram lines into those roads to give towns like Tredegar and Brynmawr train service might be an option?

Looks like a good plan for urban rail although i'm now quite pleased to have seen and used the 'old' Cardiff Bay station.

East Didsbury to Rochdale Town Centre by Manchester Metrolink is over 90-minutes; their trams have no toilets.

Regarding Electrification:
There will be overhead catenary for traction power between just south of the crossover adjacent to St Mary's Church, through the newbuild Butetown station and to the buffer stops at Cardiff Bay. So roughly half of the line South of Queen Street (the bottom half) will be electrified.
This is in the form of a catenary for traction power + charging, as evident by the placement of piles and masts already in situ.
(Discontinuous) electrification of the line has been delayed as the last of the piling work has been too disruptive to local residents and staggered works will now happen concurrently early spring next year.

As a tourist who wants to go to the Opera in the millenium Centre  this cannot come fast enough.

I can see Cardiff Crossrail happening with plans for the Class 398 tram-trains to operate across Cardiff. As well as having new trams to operate around Cardiff City Centre. And perhaps electrify other lines in Cardiff that aren’t electrified.

One of my friends who's really into trains told me the cool new ones are called "Flirts", they have the spaceship carriage. As for the tram trains not having toilets, that sounds like an awful idea considering how its pissed the people using the railway are late at night in Cardiff.

Let us have Maesteg to Severn Tunnel Junction on the redline as well.

The tram-trains look so good imo. I'd love to see the West Midlands metro upgraded one day to handle these.

It's good to see stuff like this being built. The tram train idea is great although I disagree with the lack of toilets and th fact it isn't fully electrified.

Those are crazy wide platforms for a tram stop!

The provision of toilets on suburban trains is not considered important enough by TOCs, yet disabilities are not always visible and many young and old alike do suffer from health conditions such that they need ready access to toilet facilities. They’re not needed on city trams because services are pretty frequent and it’s possible to alight, use an available loo (if you can find one open!), and then take the next service. Six trams/trains an hour may just about be OK. I guess it depends what proportion of passengers will be travelling the whole length of the line. As I age, I find bladder problems an increasing issue and many’s the time when I have been on a train bursting to go and there’s been no loo (or there are none working).

Need stations in the east of Cardiff. We’ve got nothing and won’t for a very long time, especially if a £100M project in the city centre isn’t supposed to be finished until 2028*** - they’ll never meet that deadline.