Train to Be Named ‘Trainy McTrainface’ Following Internet Poll Win

Train to Be Named 'Trainy McTrainface' Following Internet Poll Win Credit: The Independent
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A commuter train running between Sweden’s capital Stockholm and Gothenburg will soon bear the name Trainy McTrainface, the Guardian reports, in keeping with the results of an online vote hosted by rail operator MTR Express and Swedish newspaper Metro. Trainy McTrainface garnered 49 percent of all votes, beating out other contenders including Miriam, Hakan, and Glenn.

The moniker is a riff on a popular meme, Boaty McBoatface, that emerged last year as the winner of a similar online poll to name a new polar research vessel in the UK’s National Environment Research Council fleet. The British government opted to give its prized £200m ship a more dignified namesake, famed naturalist David Attenborough, in a move that sparked a minor outcry online. To mollify fans of Boaty McBoatface, and in a nod to democracy, the government eventually gave the name to a remotely operated research submersible which is currently collecting samples in the frigid waters off the coast of the Antarctic.

MTR Express, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation, has promised to respect the outcome of its poll in spite of the fact that the rules limited valid candidates to names of famous Swedish citizens, according to CNN.

“[This is] news that will be received with joy by many, not just in Sweden,” MTR wrote in a statement.

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