Observant train users may have noticed a new sign at Handforth Station. Since early May, the name Rhydymaen (a loose translation in Welsh indicating a ford of stone) has featured on a signpost alongside the southbound platform.

The new sign was generously donated by Transport for Wales, and adds to the many signs from different Train Operating Companies visible at the station. The Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) are renowned for this novel method of decorating the station, and were delighted by the donation from TfW.

James Nicholas, Communications Business Partner at Transport for Wales, travelled from Swansea to Handforth to present the sign to FoHS. He was accompanied by Lowri Joyce, the Welsh Language Strategy Lead at Transport for Wales, who said, “We are pleased to provide this totem to be a legacy for Railway 200 and join the other 20 multi-national signs at Handforth.”

After the presentation and photographs, James and Lowri spent some time with the members of FoHS to appreciate their work at Handforth and to discuss similar experiences at Welsh stations

Mike Bishop, the founder and currently President of FoHS, said, “We have been campaigning ceaselessly for lifts to be installed at Handforth Station. A major element of our campaign is to decorate the station forecourt and platforms, and make it as welcoming a place as possible. Until they complete the lift work, Network Rail limit how much improvement we can make to the station, so we welcome simple yet pleasing enhancements like this new station sign.”