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TRIVIA: Longest station names

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AY1975

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We tend to think of Wales's (and the UK's) longest station name as being Llanfair PG, although according to the Wikipedia entry on Llanfair PG at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwll_railway_station this is a Victorian contrivance for the benefit of tourists and does not have any basis in historical usage so the actual longest station name in Wales (and the UK as a whole) is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport.

There is also this now-closed thread on the longest English station name at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/longest-english-station-name.51315/

Does anyone know what the longest station names are in any other countries in Europe (or the rest of the world)?
 
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DanielB

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In the Netherlands we actually have more than one longest station name as three stations share a length of 24 characters (excluding spaces): Bovenkarspel-Grootebroek, Lansingerland-Zoetermeer and Leeuwarden Camminghaburen.
However, these are only the longest names when using the name that's on the signs at the respective station. When using full names instead of abbreviations Den Haag Laan van NOI would be number one with 28 characters for it's full name: Den Haag Laan van Nieuw Oost Indië.
 

Beebman

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In Germany there's Rothenburg ob der Tauber with 21 letters. Otherwise there's Kirchheimbolanden which is the terminus of the Donnersbergbahn from Alzey near Mainz which is run by Vlexx. It has 17 letters in one single-word name.
 

30907

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I raise you Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains and La Tour de Carol-Enveitg, the two termini of the SNCF Train Jaune. 26 and 20. Mont Louis-La Cabanasse also 20.
LaTour also has a Catalan name, LaTor de Querol - if you included bilingual names I'm sure you'd get longer...

The Germanic convention of putting the city name in front of every suburban halt should produce some lengthy results. Berlin Zoologischer Garten is 24 (and that's not a suburban halt, before West Berliners complain).
 

317666

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I think Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Regionalbahnhof might take some beating! 38 letters if I've counted correctly...
 

gysev

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In Belgium, there is "Brussel-Nationale-Luchthaven" (26).

On the other hand, "Silly" is surely the silliest station name in Europe !
 

Calthrop

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I raise you Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains and La Tour de Carol-Enveitg, the two termini of the SNCF Train Jaune. 26 and 20. Mont Louis-La Cabanasse also 20.
LaTour also has a Catalan name, LaTor de Querol - if you included bilingual names I'm sure you'd get longer...

That line does seem to go in for long "multi-barrelled" names. When I visited it, I observed that the full name of the eastern terminus appeared actually to be Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bains-Fuilla; the line also boasts Olette-Canaveilles-les-Bains (25 letters), and Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via (not outstandingly long, but I just like that one).

A different French metre-gauge line -- the Vivarais heritage one -- possesses a real "corker": Colombier-le-Vieux-Saint-Barthelemy-le-Plain, with a magnificent 38 letters.

On the other hand, "Silly" is surely the silliest station name in Europe !

In that category; I could (and have mentioned them previously on these Forums) advance the claims of, on the Szerencs -- Hidasnemeti line in Hungary: Mad, Gonc, and Golop (can't do the accents, I'm afraid).
 

DanielB

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How about the shortest? The Czech town of Aš will share top-spot with a few others, I suspect...
In The Netherlands the shortest station name has three letters: Oss. This however is also the station having the shortest official NS-abbreviation in the country, being only one letter (O).

The Germanic convention of putting the city name in front of every suburban halt should produce some lengthy results.
That convention actually also has caused conflicts. De Vink station in The Netherlands for example was opened in 1985 as Leiden De Vink but the name of the city was removed shortly after due to a dispute between the neighbouring cities Leiden and Voorschoten: the The Hague bound platform is located in Leiden, but the Leiden Centraal bound platform is located in Voorschoten.

But you're right of it producing lengthy results. We've got quite a lot of station names being around 20 characters long here, though quite a few of them are also stations serving multiple towns or villages.
 

Calthrop

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In The Netherlands the shortest station name has three letters: Oss.

"Short ones" -- I have a fondness for the shortest place-name in France: the village of Y -- population about 90 -- in the departement of Somme. With France (especially its more northerly parts) having been in the past, so well-supplied with railways; it would be splendid if this little place had at some time had a station bearing its name. Per Googling, concerning same -- unfortunately, it doesn't look hopeful.
 

rg177

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"Short ones" -- I have a fondness for the shortest place-name in France: the village of Y -- population about 90 -- in the departement of Somme. With France (especially its more northerly parts) having been in the past, so well-supplied with railways; it would be splendid if this little place had at some time had a station bearing its name. Per Googling, concerning same -- unfortunately, it doesn't look hopeful.

Sadly not but down the road, Ham currently has a station!
 

Calthrop

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Must have given the WWI Tommies a much-needed laugh...

Getting still further off-topic: there comes to mind the village of Ham in Kent. It is, or was, possible to get a photograph of a signpost between there and the neighboring town: taken at the appropriate angle, it showed the opposing left-hand and right-hand arms respectively, to read HAM SANDWICH. Sadly, Ham never had a rail station -- not even on the nearby East Kent Light Railway. If that had been so: possibilities arise re international travel, of a ticket reading from Ham to Ham. Or, I suppose, Ham (France) to Hamm (Germany); but that's a bit "ordinary" in comparison.
 

MarcVD

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There is a station Le Creusot - Montceaux-les-mines - Montchanin TGV in France.
 

37201xoIM

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Must have given the WWI Tommies a much-needed laugh...

Getting still further off-topic: there comes to mind the village of Ham in Kent. It is, or was, possible to get a photograph of a signpost between there and the neighboring town: taken at the appropriate angle, it showed the opposing left-hand and right-hand arms respectively, to read HAM SANDWICH. Sadly, Ham never had a rail station -- not even on the nearby East Kent Light Railway. If that had been so: possibilities arise re international travel, of a ticket reading from Ham to Ham. Or, I suppose, Ham (France) to Hamm (Germany); but that's a bit "ordinary" in comparison.
In similar if more puerile vein, if projects for new stations on the South Wales mainline come to fruition, you will be able to get a ticket from Undy to Pant...

Meanwhile sadly the village of "Ai" in the Scottish Borders was never near a railway.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Another planet...
On the other hand, "Silly" is surely the silliest station name in Europe !
Whereas Todmorden is the scariest station name in Europe... if you're a German!

(Tod being the German translation of the noun "death", and morden being the infinitive of the verb "to kill"... so Todmorden literally means "death kill").
 

Calthrop

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As opposed to India's acknowledged longest station name (mentioned in the thread linked-to in the OP): Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta -- west of Chennai [Madras].
 

dutchflyer

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[NL] We HAD a much longer one: Heerhugowaard/Broek op Langedijk, but the later part was dropped around 1990 or so. At that time it was in the green meadows in between the 2 villages, but HHW has since grown out as newtown and for a while there was not even a bus to BoL-its now a volunteer driver buurtbus (minibus).
Do double names as being in a 2-language area also count? Then Belgium must be having quite a few!
 
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