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Public names locomotive 'Trainy McTrainface'

By T.K. Randall
July 23, 2017 · Comment icon 27 comments

The new train has acquired a rather ridiculous name. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 James nlwiki
A recent poll in Sweden has shown, once again, why asking the public to name anything is a bad idea.
When intercity railway operator MTR Express opened up the naming of its new express train to the public vote recently, expectations were high that the winning suggestion would be a good one.

Sadly though, the locomotive ended up with the absurd moniker 'Trainy McTrainface'.

The result echoes that of a similar poll in the UK which asked the public to come up with a name for the Natural Environment Research Council's new Antarctic research vessel.
The winning name, Boaty McBoatface, was so stupid that the organizers took the decision to assign it to the vessel's accompanying yellow robotic submarine instead.

MTR Express, by contrast, has actually decided to stick with the public's choice.

"We like this name as we think that Boaty McBoatface from UK kind of got his revenge now by his cousin Trainy McTrainface winning this poll," said a spokesman.

Source: ABC.net.au | Comments (27)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #18 Posted by RoofGardener 7 years ago
Fair point Black Monk, and Manfred von Dreidecker.  So, to rephrase my post.... the boat will be BORN into obscurity, outside of a comparative handful of research scientists and crew.  I can't help but suspect that the proposed boat was ALWAYS going to be called the Attenborough, and that the 'vote' was just a publicity stunt that backfired horribly.  The boat COULD have been a beacon. Now it is just another ship, and a severe blow to the NERC's public credibility. For the next decade, ANY media reference to the NERC will probably be suffixed with ".. the body that refused to name a ship Bo... [More]
Comment icon #19 Posted by RoofGardener 7 years ago
*update* Ahhh.... it comes into focus. It wasn't NERC's decision to veto the public choice... it was a government minister.  Tory Science Minister Jo Johnson , to be precise.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Johnson His education consisted of a number of private schools, culminating in Eton and then Oxford. He has ZERO scientific training, instead reading Modern History, and then going on to become a financier. He is Boris Johnson's son.  So, a career politician, son of a career politician, trained as a banker, and no scientific knowledge. And HE over-rode the public vote, and forced the... [More]
Comment icon #20 Posted by Manfred von Dreidecker 7 years ago
Yes he ****in' does in this case, Tory who went to Eton or wherever or not. The public was taking the p***, pure and simple. 
Comment icon #21 Posted by Manfred von Dreidecker 7 years ago
And are you seriously trying to say that Sir David Attenborough is a meaningless name imposed by Tories that the public can't relate to, whereas Boaty mcflippin' Boatyface is a much loved national figure? 
Comment icon #22 Posted by Black Monk 7 years ago
What we're saying is that in Britain we held a vote for the public to decide the name of the new polar research vessel. The public decided to call it Boaty McBoatface. However, the government didn't like the public's decision and decided to call it RSS Sir David Attenborough instead, thus rendering the whole vote completely and utterly pointless. We're living in an age now in Britain where democracy is being eroded - we're seeing it in the wake of the public's decision to vote to leave the EU, with many politicians wanting the government simply to overturn the decision. However, in Sweden they... [More]
Comment icon #23 Posted by Black Monk 7 years ago
Jo Johnson is Boris's brother.
Comment icon #24 Posted by RoofGardener 7 years ago
No, not meaningless MvD.. far from it. However, which would give - ultimately - the greatest contribution to science ? A boat that everybody forgets about, or a boat that inspires the interest of a whole new generation of biological scientists ?  Here's my prediction: when the Richard Attenborough is launched, it will barely get a mention in the national media. And such coverage as it DOES get will be in reference to the naming decision.  On the other hand - in my opinion - had it been named Boatface, then the launch would have triggered a wave of national interest. Schools would have forme... [More]
Comment icon #25 Posted by Manfred von Dreidecker 7 years ago
yes, and no one knows who David Attenborough is, do they. (Actually I rather get the feeling you don't, since you confuse him with Richard.) That's a meaningless name that the public can't relate to it all.  
Comment icon #26 Posted by bee 7 years ago
  How about a compromise --- Atty McAttyface  
Comment icon #27 Posted by RoofGardener 7 years ago
Ooops - Richard instead of David - yup - I was typing that in a hurry MvD. However, do you not agree with my core thesis ?


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