To support the £140 million redevelopment of Cardiff Central station, Transport for Wales (TfW) will trial a new post-match crowd management plan when Wales play Italy at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, March 14.
Fans heading home on Valleys and Vale lines will be directed to Cardiff Queen Street station instead of Cardiff Central after the Six Nations fixture between Wales and Italy.
This change is due to the Cardiff Central enhancements and Crossrail programme, which will see the rear of the station redeveloped.
Georgina Porter, customer delivery and events planning manager at TfW, said: “We’re preparing for the £140 million redevelopment of Cardiff Central station and looking at the best ways to get people home on event days.
“This event gives us the perfect opportunity to work with our customers to test a smarter, more targeted approach to moving large numbers of fans out of the city.”
TfW said while the switch means a longer walk for some, the new system is expected to deliver shorter waits, faster boarding and engaging customer information for passengers.
Mainline queues will remain at Cardiff Central Square, including Ebbw Vale and Newport services, with only Valleys and Vale services rerouted to Queen Street.
Services running from Queen Street include trains to Bargoed, Caerphilly, Rhymney, Coryton, Ystrad Mynach, Pontypridd, Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Cardiff Bay, Barry Island, Penarth and Bridgend.
TfW said the trial will inform future crowd management plans as the station upgrade progresses.
Passengers are advised to buy their tickets in advance and use the contactless pay-as-you-go system or the TfW app.
Accessibility assistance will still be available at Cardiff Central for both mainline and Valley line passengers.
