Blackwood Interchange


Blackwood Interchange is a bus station located in the town centre of Blackwood, Caerphilly, South Wales. It is situated on Gordon Road adjacent to the High Street.

Background

The existing Blackwood Bus Station redeveloped by Caerphilly County Borough Council in 2007. The project cost an approximate £2.4 million.
During development, traders in the town centre voiced concerns that "customers will be put off walking through the market when contractors move in" however Councillors reassured concerned individuals with the prospect of a reduction in the business rate for affected businesses.
Architect Geraint Jones, unusually, was an internal developer from within Caerphilly Council's own department, at a time where most civic developments in the UK are designed by private practices.
The redevelopment of Blackwood Bus Station was judged by Caerphilly Council as successful, helping to end the anti social behaviour associated with the previous concrete structure station, and it has encouraged the subsequent development of the town in the form of new retail units on its periphery and the new Sirhowy Enterprise Way area.

Awards

The 2007 redevelopment won a number of awards nationally, including:

Layout

The bus station is a glass façade terminal building including café, waiting area, canteen, offices and welfare facilities.
The stand doors provide access to buses, which park next to the gate on arrival, and then reverse out on departure. It is fully covered from the weather.
The station offers a café, named The Plaza, and used to offer public toilet facilities within the station building. The toilet facilities closed in April 2019 due to the increasing financial difficulties faced by Caerphilly Council. Caerphilly Town Centre public toilets re-opened in July 2019 but the fate of facilities in Blackwood remain uncertain. A proposed development, Blackwood Artisan Markets, and the accompanying apartment project, have offered to provide alternative toilets.

Destinations

Blackwood lies as a stop on the Tredegar to Newport route, as well as offering a number of other destinations which begin in the town. These include Pontypridd, New Tredegar, Abertillery and Cardiff.
OperatorNumberService begins atStandService destinationJourney timeFrequency
Stagecoach in South Wales5Blackwood8Pantside33 minutesEvery hour
connect25ABlackwood8Oakdale22 minutes3 trips a day
Harris Coaches6Blackwood1Wyllie13 minutesEvery hour
Harris Coaches7Blackwood5Pontypridd55 minutesEvery hour
Harris Coaches8Blackwood4Grove Park17 minutesEvery hour
Harris Coaches9Blackwood1Penllwyn10 minutesEvery hour
Harris Coaches11Blackwood5Gelligaer27 minutesEvery hour
Harris Coaches12Blackwood2New Tredegar32 minutesEvery 30 minutes
connect213Blackwood8Manmoel15 minutes1 trip a day
Harris Coaches14Blackwood2Bargoed Interchange28 minutesEvery 30 minutes
Stagecoach in South Wales21Blackwood3Cwmbran54 minutesEvery hour
Stagecoach in South Wales26Ebbw Vale5 & 8Cardiff2hrs 55Every hour
Harris Coaches27Blackwood3Bargoed Interchange28 minutesEvery hour
Stagecoach in South Wales56Newport3 & 7Tredegar30 minutesEvery hour
Stagecoach in South Wales151Blackwood6Newport Bus Station51 minutesEvery 15 minutes
Stagecoach in South WalesX21Blackwood3Cwmbran54 minutesPeak times only

Rail transport

Blackwood railway station closed in 1965. There was previously a Rail linc bus that provided travel to nearby Ystrad Mynach railway station. This ceased in 2023.
Professor Mark Barry, who has consulted the Welsh Government on the South Wales Metro project, has written about the potential for Blackwood railway station to reopen as part of a tram-train system connecting other valleys towns from east to west.