Cathays railway station is a station on the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. It is 1 1⁄4 miles (2 km) north of Cardiff Central. The station is next to Cardiff University Students' Union and across the road from many Cardiff University buildings, as well as a short walk from the Welsh Government and other Civic buildings in Cathays Park. The footbridge over the railway is much used as a shortcut between Park Place and Senghenydd Road. When Cathays opened in 1983 it reversed a trend to close stations. It was opened by British Rail and South Glamorgan County Council.