Talking Dutch: A streetcar named Albatros
A contest by De Lijn to name its new supersize tram in Ghent has come to a conclusion, and not everyone is happy with the result
Derek Blyth on the naming of the beast
Pardon? De Lijn is op zoek naar een naam voor zijn nieuwe grote tramstellen – De Lijn is looking for a name for its new extra-long trams, it said. The massive streetcars were introduced in Ghent this week and will launch in Antwerp during the summer.
Omdat de vervoermaatschappij al een geboortekaartje heeft maar nog geen naam – Since the transport company has its birth announcement ready, but it is still looking for a name – doet ze een beroep op de creativiteit van de Vlamingen – it’s calling on the creativity of the Flemings.
Geeft de lange tram een leuke, originele naam en wie weet mag je hem komen dopen – Choose a fun, original name and, who knows, you might be invited to the Christening.
De winnaar zal de tram van 43 meter en 56 ton samen met Vlaams minister van Mobiliteit Ben Weyts mogen dopen op de ‘maidentrip’ – The winner will join Flemish transport minister Ben Weyts on the maiden voyage of the 43m, 56-ton tram.
Gauntlet laid down
Well, that was a challenge I couldn’t turn down. But first I took a look at some of the proposals that had already been posted on Twitter using the hashtag #tramzktnaam – tram seeks name.
Tramaconda was one suggestion. What about Supertramp, Tramzilla, Leviatram, Titramic or Trulk? Nice try, guys, but I can do better than that. So I found the application form online. Filled in my details. And typed in my proposal.
Traaaaaaaaaam.
Like Goooooooooogle.
It was fun. It was original. It worked in every language. Now I just had to wait for the result to be announced.
In the meantime, I took another quick look on Twitter to see if any new names had been proposed. Als De Lijn de nieuwe supertram niet Trambo noemt – If De Lijn doesn’t call its supertram Trambo, kunnen ze dat hele project maar beter direct stopzetten – they might as well forget the whole idea, tweeted journalist Michel Baeten.
But Michel doesn’t stand a chance. Je vergat de hashtag! – You forgot the hashtag! said Margot H. Anders telt het niet! – Otherwise it doesn’t count!
Hashtag or not, Trambo was a lost cause. And Supertramp was just going to confuse people. Traaaaaaaaaam was the clear winner in this contest.
De Lijn, alas, disagreed. From a shortlist including Anaconda, Gazelle, Gegant, Limo and Tramigo, the tram that took to the streets of Ghent this week is officially known as Albatros.
But it will always be Traaaaaaaaaam to me.
Photo courtesy VRT
De Lijn
De Lijn founded
largest-ever De Lijn investment in million euros
million passenger rides in 2012
- De Lijn
- TreinTramBus
- Netwerk duurzame mobiliteit
