Ctrl Alt Deleaf blows away competition as new leaf-busting train name

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There are four words guaranteed to cause despair and derision among commuters waiting on a railway platform: "leaves on the line".

They are known for causing significant annual delays and prompt discussion about how a country can be considered functioning if it can't deal with some damp foliage.

Every autumn for the past 25 years, Network Rail has sought to remedy this by sending out a fleet of specialist trains to clear the tracks with high-pressure water jets.

Now the public have voted to name one of these specialist trains. The shortlist included Leaf-Fall Weapon, Pulp Friction and The Autumn Avenger. The winner? Ctrl Alt Deleaf.

These specialist trains - known as Multi-Purpose Vehicle trains (MPVs) - are also capable of laying a sticky solution laced with sand to help train wheels grip the metal track.

"It's a huge issue," said Tom Desmond from Network Rail. "It has become a joke, hasn't it? Calling it "leaves on the line" and the reason we can delay trains.

"But for us, the reason it causes all these delays is because it makes the rails really slippery.

"All the leaf fall that comes down makes it a real challenge to run the railway on time."

As well as using MPVs - which can run twice a day and cover 1.2 million miles of railway - to deal with leaf fall, trees are cut down by the rail side and weed killer is sprayed.

Tim Dunn, a rail historian and writer, helped judge the naming competition for the MPV.

He says the issue of leaves on the line "has become a trope of British railways" but it actually affects railways across the world.

He adds: "It is a figure of fun, the idea of 'leaves on the line', but they are a massive, massive problem.

"But there is a way of showing that, and bringing it in to consciousness, and this [competition] is a lovely way of doing it."

More than 1,300 people voted, with other suggestions including Buster Grimes, Britney Clears and Itsy, Bitsy, Yellow Anti-leaf Machinery.

The trains are indeed yellow, but also huge.

Leafy McLeafFace and Trainy McTrainFace were proposed, said Mr Dunn, but not allowed.

Ctrl Alt Deleaf won with 50% of the public vote. It was unveiled on Friday before heading out to live up to its name with the autumn season now under way.

"I'm delighted and thrilled," said Mr Dunn. "In the 200-year history of the railway, all the famous trains have been named - from the Rocket to the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, and this follows in the footsteps of that."

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