With Friday, 1 March being St David's Day, Great Western Railway will be recognising the day by helping to celebrate Wales Week in London by offering travellers on services from Swansea and Cardiff to London a complimentary cup of Welsh tea.
Wales Week in London is an annual event held each February and March that promotes Wales in the UK's capital.
It provides a showcase for Welsh businesses and organisations to connect and build partnerships with London-based audiences at events.
This year, Wales Week in London is being held from Thursday, 22 February to Wednesday, 6 March, with a series of events across the city to commemorate Wales and all things Welsh.
Great Western Railway will be getting into the spirit of St David's Day by offering those on services from Swansea and Cardiff to London a complimentary ‘paned', which is a speciality Welsh Brew tea brand that literally translates to ‘cuppa'.
As a further celebration of St David's Day , anyone travelling on services departing between 0623 and 0837 will be offered complimentary Welsh cakes and Welsh shortbread as well as a cup of tea.
Wherever possible, Welsh-speaking staff will also make announcements in Welsh on trains to London Paddington.
At Paddington, a Welsh experience is being staged on platforms 8 and 9, with a special photography exhibition in partnership with Visit Wales, Network Rail and Transport for Wales. The exhibition will also be visiting Cardiff and Swansea stations over the coming months.
GWR On Board Service Manager Mererid Gehler, who helped organise the giveaway, said: “We can't wait to welcome you on board and help to celebrate all things Welsh on our national day. We're proud of GWR's heritage in Wales and our Welsh teams in Swansea and Cardiff, so love an opportunity to celebrate Wales, in Wales and across the GWR network.
“Where our staff speak Welsh, even tipyn bach [a little bit] then we're pleased to support them to use their Welsh when they're working – and especially on St David's Day. Customers can identify a GWR colleague who speaks Welsh by the Draig Goch [Red Dragon] on their name badge.
“If you miss the chance for a paned in the morning, why not travel back on our 1748 Pullman Dining service, where we hope to be able to keep some back for the journey.”
GWR Growth Manager for Wales & West of England, Rich Middleton said: “We know that for many of our customers, Paddington is the start of a Great Western Railway adventure, so what better place to showcase what Wales has to offer than our exhibition with Visit Wales? On Platforms 8 and 9, customers will be able to see some of the great destinations in Wales, served by GWR and our friends at Transport for Wales.”
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