No Welsh on new GWR fleet
TRAIN operator Great Western Railway will not have Welsh language announcements or signs on its new fleet.
The operator rolled out new trains earlier this month, which had to be taken out of service after issues in their first days of service.
But one passenger, Cardiff councillor and Welsh learner Phil Bale, spotted a lack of Welsh language announcements or signs on board.
A spokesman for the company replied to him saying that there were “no plans” for that to take place.
“I’m afraid we have no plans to have bilingual signage and on-board announcements on these services,” a spokesman said.
When asked by another user why that was the case, they replied: “These trains serve both England and Wales they aren’t a dedicated South Wales fleet.”
There was outrage from train users who said that the policy was showing “complete disdain” for customers.
David Thomas tweeted: “Shocking disdain for Welsh customers. Your services link our two largest cities. What next? Welsh not in Express Cafe?”
He also said that Arriva Trains Wales provide bilingual announcements while serving English towns and cities like Shrewsbury and Manchester.
Penbedw wrote: “That these trains run beyond Wales is not an explanation. They run in two countries, therefore two languages”.
Yes Cymru Llundain added: “Get back to the drawing board, swallow the expense now or get in the habit of replacing removed signs.”
Alun Davies AM also tweeted his disappointment. He said that GWR should ensure there are Welsh translations on their trains.
Coun Bale said: “For me it shows that Great Western (Railway) are stuck in the dark ages. We have a Welsh Government target of one million Welsh speakers and there are international transport operators who manage to provide their services in different languages all across Europe.
“To say you can’t or you won’t provide a service is just ridiculous”.
Plaid Cymru’s Welsh language spokeswoman Sian Gwenllian said: “Great Western Railway’s attitude is disrespectful to the thousands of customers in England and Wales who use their service every day.
“Its response to this matter suggests that displaying Welsh language signs alongside English language signs on trains that run in both England and Wales would be too much of an inconvenience for its customers from outside of Wales to bear.
“This is a discredit to its customers in England and Wales and undermines the fact that Welsh is an official language and should be treated in an equal footing in Wales.
“If GWR was serious about offering a good quality service to all of its customers then it would reverse this decision as a matter immediately.”
The Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws said: “Great Western (Railway)’s alleged lack of investment in the Welsh language is a cause for concern.
“In 2016 the Commissioner submitted a report to the Welsh Government recommending that Welsh language standards should be placed on train companies.
“We continue to work with the train companies and others to develop the use of the Welsh language on a voluntary basis, and discusses public concerns with them”.
A spokesman for Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: “Ensuring bilingual signage and announcements on trains in Wales is a matter of basic respect for the Welsh language – there is no excuse not to.
“The fact GWR have said they don’t intend even to ensure these simple things, and that they’ve missed easy opportunities to do so, shows that they are not a suitable organisation to provide a train service in Wales.
“The Welsh Government should publish strong language standards in the transport sector so that the Welsh Language Commissioner can force companies like GWR to respect the language.”
A Great Western Railway spokesman said: “We will continue with the same policy as we have with existing fleet of high-speed trains.
“We don’t have Welsh speakers on every service and as the trains are used on different routes in England and Wales we don’t have plans to introduce bilingual signage. However, we will provide literature in Welsh on request.”