Under the proposals a new railway station would be built at Heathrow Airport which would link directly to Cardiff, cutting journey times and avoiding the need to go via Paddington.

It is hoped that the link could be operational by 2021, with multi-million pound benefits to the South Wales economy.

Earlier this year the Government announced the £1bn electrification of the main rail line between London and Cardiff and the latest news follows lobbying by the Great Western Partnership (GWP), of which Cardiff Council is a member, for an electrified rail route running directly from South Wales to Heathrow Airport.

Councillor Berman said: “This is incredibly encouraging news. Along with the council leaders of Bristol and Swindon, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport calling for direct links to Heathrow from South Wales to be part of the future high-speed rail link. It sounds like the lobbying of the GWP has influenced Government thinking which is very pleasing.

“Electrification to London Paddington was good news, but by itself is not enough to give the boost to economic growth that South Wales needs.  The link with Heathrow will help us attract new businesses to Cardiff and South Wales, opening up greater opportunities for inward investment. Travel links to major airports are a big consideration for businesses looking to relocate and if we can improve those links it can only mean that we attract more quality companies to Cardiff.

“This is ultimately going to be very important to the future growth of the economy in South Wales and the Cardiff city region.”

A crowd of 60,000 is expected to attend the game with kick-off at 2.30pm

The best way to travel to the event is by public transport and coach wherever possible. Those bringing their cars into the city can ease worries over congestion and parking costs by using the Council’s park and ride services.

There are two park and ride sites, one at the Cardiff City Football Club (CF11 8HU – Yellow Car Park) and one at Cardiff County Hall (CF10 4UW – Green Car Park)

Both sites can be accessed from junction 33 of the M4. Signs should be followed from the M4 as they will direct drivers to available park and ride sites at time of arrival. The service costs £6 per car.

The car parks will have a staff presence from 8.30am and will open at 9am, with the first bus leaving at 9.30am. The last bus will leave the pick-up points at 6.30pm, with the car parks closing at 7pm.

Coach parking is also available at Sophia at the dedicated coach park with driver facilities, costing £10 per coach.

There is car parking available at Sophia Close, which is within walking distance of the stadium, at a cost of £10 per car.

The following roads will be closed from 12.30 until 5.30pm:

*       Kingsway from its junction with North Rd / Boulevard de Nantes to its junction with Duke St.

*       Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate St.

*       Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted).

*       Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor St (access for residents and traders will be permitted).

The following roads will be closed in their entirety:

Duke Street, Castle Street, High Street, St.Mary Street, Caroline Street, Wood Street, Central Square, Westgate Street, Quay Street, Guildhall Place, Golate, Park Street, Havelock Street and Scott Road.

Both Tom and Jonny – an established member of the Wales senior men’s side, previously played for Swansea Bay Hockey Club but moved to Whitchurch to help with the Club’s aim of breaking into the England Hockey League Premier Division. 

Whitchurch are the only Welsh club offering men’s national league hockey and play in the England Hockey League West Conference, where they finished a creditable fourth last season.  The club’s first team are regular winners of hockey trophies and hockey medals, including the Welsh Championship, Welsh Cup and Welsh Indoor Cup.

Speaking at Cardiff Central station, Tom and Jonny said; "We are delighted to receive support with our travel arrangements between Swansea and Cardiff.  It makes life much easier and less stressful for both of us as we live and work in Swansea and need to travel to Cardiff to meet training and match commitments each week.  Not only is there a cost saving on petrol money, but we don’t have to battle through rush-hour traffic to make it in time for training."

Geraint Morgan, community affairs manager for Arriva Trains Wales, said: “As the only Welsh hockey Club playing in the England Hockey League, we’re delighted to offer our support to Tom and Jonny.  The sponsorship forms part of our policy to support organisations in the communities we serve and in this case, help them achieve their goal of reaching the premier division of English hockey.”

A spokesperson said an amended timetable will be in operation and will be published as soon as possible.

Runners have surged to take part in this year’s race, with thousands signing up. Places have gone 10 days ahead of when entries were scheduled to close.

In two years, runner numbers have almost doubled, making the Lloyds TSB Cardiff Half Marathon one of the fastest growing half marathons in the UK.

All of the biggest running events have a cap on the number of entrants, to ensure the safety of all those taking part. The course will be policed and marshalled throughout.

Those runners that were turned away from the event will soon be able to register for next year’s event. Registrations will open in late October. Register before December 31 and pay 2010 prices.

The annual half-marathon event will be a premium part of the Welsh running calendar as the nation prepares for the London Olympics.

Event Organiser Rachel Madge said:

“Welsh Athletics’ decision to select our event as the main championship event for runners in the four years to 2012 is a great honour for us. Gaining championship status will give the race prestige and a unique standing amongst athletes. For Wales‘s leading athletes this event is the pinnacle in the Welsh racing calendar.”

The Half Marathon being run on the morning of Sunday 17 October will mean temporary alterations to a number of bus services as described below. Additionally, many roads across the city will close to accommodate the runners.

In particular, the bay area will be seriously affected and drivers should plan their routes accordingly.

Suspended bus routes:

A number of journeys to and from West Cardiff will start and finish at the Wynford Hotel bus stop in Clare Street instead of Central Station.

BayCar Service 6

From start of service until 1152 from Hilton, 1220 from WMC operate between Central Station and Cardiff Bay via Dumballs Road, James Street, Adelaide Street and to Mermaid Quay. Return to Central Station via Bute Street.

From 1200 to 1500 buses will operate their normal route but use Bute Street in both directions not Lloyd George Avenue.

Between 0830 and Callaghan St Mary Street/Customhouse Street junction reopening, buses will not serve the rear of station and operate via full length of Bute Street and then the Friday and Saturday evening route around city centre.

Service 7

Service suspended until 1155 from Mermaid Quay and 1213 from Canal Street.

Service 8

0923 and 0953 from City Centre, 0923, 0953, 1023 and 1053 form Atlantic Wharf will not operate.

The 1053 and 1123 from the City Centre will end at Mermaid Quay and the 1123 and 1153 from Atlantic Wharf will start from Mermaid.

Service 9

0943 and 1013 from City Centre and 1017 from Sports Village will not operate.

Services 12/13

The 0900 and 0950 service 12 journeys from Ely will operate to Canton Police Station then via Leckwith Road and Ninian Park Road  and Clare Street to the end at the Wynford Hotel.

The 1018 service 12 from Central Station to start from the Wynford Hotel and operate via Neville Street, Wellington Street, and Leckwith Road to Broad Street.

The 0950 service 12 from Pengam Green to operate to Central Station only.

Services 17 & 18

These services will start from the Wynford Hotel from 0922 to 1032.

The 0822 to 0922 journeys from the City Centre to operate to Canton Police Station then via Leckwith Road, Ninian Park Road and Clare Street  to end at the Wynford Hotel.

Services 21 & 23

The 0905 journey from Central Station will enter the city centre via Colum Road, Dumfries Place, Station Terrace, Bute Terrace and lower St Mary Street

The 0935 journey from Central Station will leave the city via lower St Mary Street, Bute Terrace, Station Terrace, Dumfries Place, Park Place and Colum Road

Service 27

The 0801 journey from the city centre will enter the city centre via the Friday & Saturday evening route and end at David Street.

The 0901 journey from Kingsway will start from David Street at 0917

Services 28, 29

The 0741 service 29 journey from the City Centre wil enter the city centre via the Friday and Saturday evening route and end at David Street.

The 0829 from Dumfries Place and 0948 from Hayes Bridge Road service 29 journeys will start from David Street at 0846 and 0949.

Service 32

The 0940 journey from Central Station will start from the Wynford Hotel

Service 35

The 0915 journey from Gabalfa will enter the city centre via the Friday and Saturday evening route and end in David Street

Services 38 & 39

The 0912 journey from Bute Terrace and 0940 journey from Westgate Street to start from Churchill Way

0906 and 0936 journeys from Heath Hospital will enter the city centre via the Friday and Saturday evening route

Services 44 & 45

The 0857 journey from Dumfries Place and the 0945 journey from Bute Terrace will start from Churchill Way.

The 0830 and 0900 journeys from St Mellons will end atChurchill Way

Services 49 & 50

The 0841journey from Dumfries Place and 0939 and 0955 journeys from Bute Terrace will start from Churchill way

The 0813 journey from Llanrumney will end in Churchill Way

Service 52

The 0918 journey from Customhouse Street to start from Churchill Way

Services 57 & 58

The 0835, 0917, 0930 journeys from Dumfries Place will start from Churchill Way

The 0810, and 0848 journeys from Pontprennau will end in Churchill Way

Services 60 & 62

The 0937 journey from Danescourt will to operate to Penhill then via Canton, Leckwith Road, Ninian Park Road and Clare Street to the Wynford Hotel.

The 1005 62 from Central Station will start from the Wynford Hotel

Service 61

The 0950 and 1020 journeys from Central Station will start from the Wynford Hotel and operate via Neville Street to Canton

The 0912 and 0940 journeys from Pentrebane will to operate to Canton then via Wellington Street, Ninian Park Road and Clare Street to the Wynford Hotel

Service 92

The 0954 from Castle Avenue will continue along Penarth Road then via Clare Road to end at Cornwall Street Post Office

The 0930 and 1030 journeys from Central Station will start from Cornwall Street Post Office

Service 94

0927 from Sully will continue along Penarth Road then via Clare Road to end at Cornwall Street Post Office

The 1000 journey from Central Station will start from Cornwall Street Post Office

Services 96

The 0920 and 1020 journeys from Central Station will start from the Wynford Hotel then via Neville Street to Canton

Services X91

The 1002 journey from Central Station will start from the Wynford Hotel then via Neville Street, Wellington Street to Leckwith Road.

The card is linked to the Sustainable Travel City scheme – run by Cardiff Council and the Welsh Assembly Government – and aims to help the Welsh capital to become a Sustainable Travel City by encouraging bus use around the city centre.

The new card will be unveiled to the public at 12:30pm outside Cardiff Library by Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones, Cardiff Councillor Delme Bowen, Executive Member for Transport and Cardiff councillor Joseph Carter, Chair of Cardiff Bus.

Iff – which is a smart card similar to those in use by travel companies nationwide – will be unique to each user.  It can be pre-loaded with credit, signalling an end to paying by change for each journey and can also be used as a season ticket.  It also allows customers to stop their card and retrieve their current balance if they lose it

In launching the new card, Cardiff Bus will be the first UK bus company to allow users of its Iff Card to go up to £3 into debit – the equivalent of two single journeys in the capital.

The commercial back office ticketing and card issuance system for the Cardiff Bus Iff card has been delivered by Applied Card Technologies limited (ACT).  This service – comprising the Customer Management System, ticket issuing systems and the ACT HOPS central back office ticketing engine – enables Cardiff bus to provide  ‘pay as you go’ ticketing on all its bus services using the very latest in smart card technology .  The ACT HOPS is fully certified to the latest ITSO national transport ticketing standards required by the Department of Transport.

Cardiff Bus is also planning to extend its communication with customers – as championed through its use of Twitter and Facebook – by sending service updates to passengers via text or email during spells of traffic congestion or bad weather.

Councillor Joe Carter, Chair of Cardiff Bus, says, “A smartcard has been an aspiration of Cardiff Bus for many years, and it has been the developing technology that has – until today – held us back.  You cannot have missed that the name of our new smartcard is the “IFF” card, a play on “Card” and “iff”.  Our aim is for “IFF” to become as much a part of the local language in Cardiff as the “Oyster” card is in London.  IFF is both a pre-payment card, and a season ticket, and it is good to be able to report that having the right change will now be a problem of the past for most of our customers”.

Cardiff Council’s Executive Member for Transport, Delme Bowen, says, ““Cardiff Bus is owned by the people of Cardiff, and that has brought many benefits.  The company was one of the first bus operators in the UK to introduce a fleet that is fully easy access/low floor – some seven years ahead of the 2016 deadline.  It has invested heavily in environmentally friendly modern engines and systems.  It has pioneered new technology from TV on buses through to on-bus data recording, with all buses having high quality CCTV.  2010 saw the launch of Cardiff Bus on Twitter and Facebook – enabling instant communication with its customers.  We are delighted to see this latest investment in new technology being extended to include smartcards.”

Deputy First Minister and Minister for Economy and Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones, says, “I am delighted to see the launch of this important initiative which is a positive development for Cardiff Bus and the thousands of public transport users it serves. This is the latest in a series of investments into the transport network in Cardiff and further proof that we are all committed to providing the best service possible for passengers.

“This is also an important milestone achievement for the Wales transport entitlement card project. The transition to ITSO enables the Welsh Assembly Government and all 22 local authorities to offer a more flexible transport system for our citizens, reducing costs, improving efficiency and offering travellers throughout Wales an improved travel experience.”

Cardiff Bus has sent out Iff information leaflets to 120,000 homes in Cardiff, and is encouraging people to send off free-of-charge for their Iff Card.  For a limited time, applicants will receive £3 of free travel.  A further 80,000 leaflets will be available on buses and from its customer service centre.  Customers can also find full details on the company website www.cardiffbus.com

The new Park and Ride in the east of Cardiff is proving to be extremely popular, with the numbers of people using it rising each week.

Since its launch on October 19, the weekly number of cars using the Park and Ride has more than doubled, with the latest count showing 1548 drivers taking advantage of the service from November 16 to 22.

Both commuters and shoppers are finding the Cardiff East Park and Ride invaluable and the approaching festive season, coupled with the recent opening of St David’s, has boosted figures significantly with more than 6000 vehicles using the service.

Councillor Delme Bowen, Executive member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “People are realising just how easy the new Park and Ride makes it to get in and out of the city centre and I am getting nothing but positive feedback about it.

“It’s great to see people actively seeking alternative travel solutions to get into Cardiff to help reduce congestion problems and carbon emissions. The Cardiff East Park and Ride looks to be a resounding success.”

Based just off the A48 (Eastern Avenue) the Cardiff East Park and Ride can be accessed from the Pentwyn Interchange. It has 340 car parking spaces, including 19 disabled spaces, with buses running every 15 minutes direct to Dumfries Place at the end of Queen Street (next to Sainsburys) via a dedicated bus lane.

The bus journey gives people a quick and environmentally friendly way of travelling into Cardiff city centre, with the amount of spaces to be eventually extended to 1100.

The cost of the Park and Ride for all-day parking is £2.50 per car with buses running from 7am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday (Thursdays 7am to 10.30pm), Saturdays 9am to 7pm and Sundays 9am to 5.30pm. The buses are low-floor, wheelchair accessible and able to take prams.

There is a Park and Ride bus every fifteen From Monday to Friday the service operates from 7am until 8.30pm and 10.30pm on Thursdays. On Saturdays buses run from 9am to 7pm and on Sundays from 9am until 5.30pm.

The new Park and Ride is part of Cardiff Council’s Sustainable Travel City initiative, which is partly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, and links in with the ‘Free B’ shuttle bus, which helps in getting people between key points in the city centre, with a bus every 10 minutes.

Cardiff East Park and Ride also links up with existing Park and Ride facilities which are available to the west of the city at the new Cardiff City stadium in Leckwith.

Opening times are 7.30am to 7.30pm Monday to Saturday, except on match days.

At the weekend the regular Cardiff South and Cardiff North Park and Ride services are in operation. On Saturday these run from both County Hall and Crown Way from 9am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm (Cardiff North Park and Ride,is open on Sundays until January 3 for the Christmas period).

Jenny Randerson AM

Welsh Lib Dem Shadow Transport Minister, Jenny Randerson AM has today called for plans to be brought forward to electrify the Valley Lines network immediately following the electrification of the Great Western line.

The calls come after officials from the UK Department of Transport told the Assembly’s Enterprise and Learning Committee that “there is logic” that the Cardiff Area Network could be electrified once main line work reaches Cardiff.

Jenny Randerson AM said: “It is clear that if we miss the opportunity to electrify the Valley Lines as part of the process of electrifying the main line, then this could be gone for decades.

“Experts say that once the electrification ‘factory’ is shut down, it is hugely expensive and time consuming to re-start it. Therefore, if we are ever going to see the Valley Lines turned into a speedy, economically beneficial, metro service, then this could be our last chance for quite some time.”

Ms Randerson’s intervention comes after senior officials in the UK Department of Transport told an Assembly Committee that it would be possible for WAG to renegotiate the contract.

Jenny Randerson said: “It is very clear that the Arriva Trains Wales service is not as good as people would expect. The company are making every effort to improve services and the trains, but they are quite right to argue that they can only provide what they are paid for.

“When this franchise was designed, the requirements were cut right back to the bone, but the Department of Transport made it quite clear in committee that renegotiation was quite possible. The Labour-Plaid Government should start this process right away.

“We don’t want to have to wait another eight years for modern carriages and more services.”

On both Saturdays it has been in use over 300 cars have used the site and on average, 245 made use of it every day during its second week of service, from Monday October 26.

The figures, which run until 5:30pm on Sunday November 1, show a steadily increasing popularity and are expected to rise further as we approach the festive season.

The new Park and Ride is part of Cardiff Council’s Sustainable Travel City initiative, which is partly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. It provides a frequent, convenient service that travels directly to Dumfries Place, adjacent to Sainsbury’s.

There are 340 spaces in total, including 19 disabled spaces. The current amount of spaces is to be extended to 1100 in phases two and three. In addition, there will shortly be free parking to allow local residents to link to adjacent walkways and public space.

There is a Park and Ride bus every fifteen minutes for maximum efficiency, ensuring a quick and reliable journey for commuters and visitors alike. From Monday to Friday the service operates from 7:00am until 8:30pm and 10:30pm on Thursdays. On Saturdays buses run from 9:00am to 7:00pm and on Sundays from 9:00am until 5:30pm.

The service links in with the ‘Free B’ shuttle bus, which launched on October 12. This free service assists in transferring people between key points in the city centre, with a bus every 10 minutes.

Executive Member for Transport Councillor Delme Bowen said: “I am delighted to see the large numbers of people using the new park and ride service since its opening. With Christmas fast approaching I hope as many people as possible take advantage of its benefits.

“At £2.50 the service is competitively priced and as we enter phases two and three of development we will also be encouraging more car-sharing from the site. With this in mind I am confident Cardiff’s first purpose built park and ride will continue to be a huge success”.