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Station voiceover spoils two-minute silence

Silence descended on Cardiff yesterday to mark Armistice Day.

Shoppers at John Lewis in St David^s shopping centre observed the two-minute silence, while workers across South Wales paused to reflect.

But rail bosses were last night labelled ^disrespectful^ after automated announcements in Cardiff Central Station broke the silence.

Travellers were left bemused when messages advising them not to smoke in the station played as they stood to pay their respects at 11am.

Arriva Trains Wales came under fire last night for not temporarily switching off the announcements during the period of remembrance.

The rail company said calls on the public address system had continued in all 55 of its stations as turning them off is too complicated.

An Arriva Trains Wales spokeswoman said: ^Arriva Trains Wales held two minutes^ silence as a mark of respect to those killed or injured in the defence of their country. Announcements were made at all of our 55 staffed stations across the network and the silence was observed by staff and passengers.^

She added: ^We recognise that it would have been desirable to switch off all automatic station announcements for the two minutes. However, the complexities of doing so meant that this was not possible.^