Swedish rail firm names new train '˜Trainy McTrainface'

A rail firm in Sweden has delighted thousands after its decision to name a train '˜Trainy McTrainface'.

An MTR Express train. Picture: Contributed

The name picked up nearly 50 per cent of all votes in a public poll carried out by MTR Express - a private rail operator running trains between Gothenburg and Stockholm - and Sweden’s Metro newspaper.

The train will make up part of a brand new fleet to be introduced in the coming weeks, and joins Estelle, Glenn, Ingvar and an as yet unnamed fifth train.

Estelle was named for Princess Estelle, the elder child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, while Glenn is rumoured to be a nod to a Gothenburg football team of the 1980s that featured four players with that name.

Ingvar was named in advance, and honours Swedish TV personality Ingvar Oldsberg.

Trainy McTrainface beat off competition from the likes of Miriam, Håkan and Poseidon, winning 49 per cent of the vote.

An MTR Express spokesperson said: “This is news that will be received with joy by many, not just in Sweden.”

The decision to name the train ‘Trainy McTrainface’ comes just over a year after the ‘Boaty McBoatface’ saga in the UK, when a public poll to name a new Polar Research Ship resulted in nearly 125,000 people voting for the new vessel to be named ‘Boaty McBoatface’.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) elected to name the ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough, but did name an on-board remotely operated sub-sea vehicle ‘Boaty McBoatface’.