A tram running through a French metropolis has been named after a rural Aberdeenshire village.
A new line on Bordeaux’s public transport system has been christened “Aboyne” in honour of the Deeside community’s ties with a town to its west.
The city – one of the world’s wine industry capitals – is known as the “Sleeping Beauty” of France, and is famed for its large number of preserved historical buildings.
Aboyne has been twinned with Martignas-sur-Jalle, a town of 9,000 on the fringes of Bordeaux, since 2010.
The mayor of Martignas, Michel Vernejoul, also serves as the Bordeaux “metropole” councillor in charge of international relations, and pushed for the tram to honour the two village’s ties.
A delegation of locals from Aboyne visited Martignas at the end of June and arrived in Bordeaux for the unveiling of the new tram, which also features a Scottish lion rampant flag.
The words “Ville de Aboyne, jumellee avec Martignas-sur-Jalle” – the town of Aboyne, twinned with Martignas-sur Jalle – are also imprinted on it.
Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside councillor Peter Argyle flew into the city to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The tram is an addition to the three-line system, which runs across 36 miles of track, two river shuttles, 100 carriages and 112 stations.
Mr Argyle said: “It is a very brand-new, swish, elegant tram; and it is a fantastic system. Particularly coming at this period in time when the whole European project is under questions, this just shows what people can do.”
Chairwoman of the Aboyne Twinning Association, Maureen Forsyth, said: “The people of Aboyne can be proud to know that a tram is now crossing Bordeaux each day carrying the Scottish lion rampart and the words ‘Ville de ABOYNE, jumellee avec Martignas-sur-Jalle’.”
The Aboyne visitors spent four days in Martignas with their hosts, visiting the Bordeaux Wine Festival and the historic region of Bazas among other excursions.
On Friday, September 30 the twinning group will host a quiz night to raise funds for the Martignas team’s return visit to Aboyne in 2018. For more info e-mail moforsyth@gmail.com
