VOTING has now opened to name one of National Rail’s ‘leaf busting’ trains.

The trains, on the National Rail route, help protect the railways from leaves on the lines which when left form a thin, slippery layer on the rail much like black ice on the roads. Their mulch can also infer with the signalling system.

More than 1,300 individual nominations were submitted by the public, before being whittled down by a select panel of judges: railway historian, presenter and author Tim Dunn, Minister of State for Rail, Lord Peter Hendy, and Network Rail’s seasonal delivery director Lisa Angus.

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Some of the incredible names that didn’t make the cut are: ‘Britney Clears’, ‘Buster Grimes’, ‘Don’t Stop De-Leafing’, and ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Leaf Machiney’.

The final shortlisted names, in alphabetical order, are:

  • Ctrl Alt De-leaf
  • Leaf-Fall Weapon
  • Pulp Friction
  • The Autumn Avenger

Railway author, presenter and historian Tim Dunn said: “Who needs Leafy McLeafFace when we have this shortlist of terrific - and really quite fitting - names to bestow upon one of these legendary leaf-busting behemoths.

“I knew Britain wouldn't let us down: entries ranged from the witty, clever and even touching - through to utterly shameless Dad-grade puns. It’s been a joy to be a part of the judging process to name a leaf-buster, my fellow judges and I found it tricky to narrow down all the brilliant entries to just four names.”

Network Rail’s seasonal delivery director, Lisa Angus, said: “We had a lot of fun reading through the name suggestions, so a huge thank you to everyone who took part.

The leaf teams The leaf teams (Image: Provided) “Though this competition is just a way of bringing some light-hearted ‘re-leaf’ this autumn, it’s been great to see a growing awareness of the serious problems leaves on the line pose to the railway, both here and across the world, and an appreciation of the mammoth task we undertake each year to keep passengers moving through the season.”

This autumn, leaf-fall teams across Britain will be on hand 24/7 to scrub rails with a sand-based adhesive as required and clear tracks of debris to keep passengers on the move, informed by specialised leaf-fall forecasting which helps prioritise the areas that need attention.

There will also be leaf deterring gel, drones will be used to identify high-risk areas and specially adapted Land Rovers known as ‘SandRovers’- which are road-rail vehicles which can clean and treat rails.

Voting is now open and closes at midnight on Friday 11 October