Today, the BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette) published Ministerial Order TRM/957/2024, which establishes the new criteria for naming RFIG passenger stations and the procedure for assigning or modifying their names.
It will come into force tomorrow and apply to name changes that take place from now on or to those established in stations that are under construction.
Although it does not eliminate the option of assigning names to personalities(an action that we at Rail News Vista consider incorrect), the Order establishes that it will be “an exceptional resource” and that the geographical denomination must be maintained. Which must always precede the personality’s name.
In this way, requests such as that to change the name of “Córdoba Central” to “Alcalde Julio Anguita” or names such as that of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, in which the ex-president of the Government appears before the name of the capital, will be avoided.
As in the past, the maximum length of station names, excluding hyphens and spaces, is 40 characters.
Article 2, which defines the criteria for naming passenger stations, establishes that the name must refer to its location so that it is easy to identify for rail transport users.
The name of the municipality in which the station is located must appear on all stations or halts where medium and long-distance services are provided, whereas it may not be included on stations dedicated to short-distance services.
Article 2. Criteria for the naming of passenger railway stations
1. The name of a station shall include, in any case, a reference to its location, so that the name is easy to interpret and unmistakable for the public.
To this end, the name of the station shall include, except in the exceptions included in this Order, the name of the municipality in which it is located. The names of the municipalities shall be those appearing in the Register of Local Entities, published by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, including, where appropriate, the name in the co-official language if this appears in the register.
2. If there are several stations in the same municipality, the name of the neighbourhood, area, street or square in which it is located shall be used as a priority after the name of the municipality, without using a hyphen. If the station is located close to the town centre in an enclave without a particular name, the distinction may refer to the type of rail services provided at the station.
3. For the designation of stations not dedicated to medium and long-distance traffic and serving only urban or suburban trains, and when there is more than one station in the same municipal area, the above guidelines shall apply, although the name of the municipality may be omitted.
4. The name of the station may include the name of several municipalities, separated by a hyphen, or include the name of a specific region if the purpose of the station is to serve several municipalities or the whole region.
When the name of the station includes the name of several municipalities, the following requirements shall, in general, be met:
a) The maximum number of municipalities whose name is reflected in the name of the station shall be limited to two.
b) In the case where the name of the type of rail services provided or a mobility feature has been included in the station name, only the name of one municipality may be reflected in the station name.
c) The order of the names of the municipalities to be included in the station name shall be established by the Directorate General for Rail Sector on a case by case basis, taking into account criteria such as population size, expected demand for rail services provided or proximity to population centres, among others.
5. The inclusion of the names of personalities or the reference to tourist sites in the name of the station shall be an exceptional resource. In no case may such inclusion lead to confusion or ambiguity as to the geographical identification of the resort.
If the name of a personality is to be added to the resort, this personality must be of recognised prestige in the cultural or scientific fields or have stood out for his or her public projection in defence of values and human rights, as well as having a direct and proven link with the municipality or territory.
If the name of the station includes the name of a personality, this name shall appear after the geographical name, using a hyphen as a separator.
6. The maximum length of the complete name of the station may not exceed 40 characters, excluding spaces and hyphens. Article 41 of Order TMA/851/2021, of 23 July, which develops the technical document on basic conditions of accessibility and non-discrimination for access to and use of urbanised public spaces, shall be applicable, and names with as few characters as possible shall be recommended.
In those cases in which, due to material limitations, it is necessary to represent the name of the station in abbreviated form, priority shall be given, whenever possible, to preserving the integrity of the part of the name that refers to the geographical location, proceeding to abbreviate the rest of the elements that make up the name of the station.
