Bilzen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A coding error caused trains on the Alken-Diepenbeek route to mispronounce Bilzen as “Fieberbrunn,” amusing passengers. NMBS spokesman Bart Crols confirmed the mix-up stems from incorrect telegraphic codes.
Chiara, a daily train commuter from Alken to Diepenbeek, has noticed something amusing during her travel. For the past few weeks, the electronic voice announcing the train stops has mispronounced a station name. Instead of saying “Fieberbrunn,” the voice sounds like it is saying “Fieberbroem.”
Chiara mentioned that this mistake caught the attention of other passengers, leading to some light laughter on the train. Chiara finds the error amusing but is also curious about why it is happening, as the two names sound quite different.
What caused the train’s electronic voice to mispronounce Bilzen as Fieberbrunn?
Chiara finds the mispronunciation funny, but it also confuses her. She sees no clear connection between “Fieberbrunn” and “Bilzen,” which she thought might be the correct stop. The name “Fieberbroem” does not sound or look like “Bilzen” at all.
This leaves Chiara wondering if it is just a glitch in the train’s system or a mistake in the voice software. Despite the confusion, the mix-up has made many passengers confused during their travels.
“It’s been happening for a few weeks now,” says Chiara. “I find it funny. It sounds like the voice is saying ‘Fieberbroem’
The mistake of announcing “Fieberbrunn” instead of the correct station name on Chiara’s train was caused by a mix-up with telegraphic codes. Each train station has its special code.
The system incorrectly entered the code for Bilzen, making changes in an announcement t”Fieberbrunn,” a ski resort in Austria, instead of Bilzen, a city in Limburg. Passengers found this error amusing, but it was because of the wrong foreign station code being linked to Bilzen’s stop.
“Every station at home and abroad has a telegraphic code,” explains NMBS spokesman Bart Crols.
According to Bart Crols, this is not the first time such a mistake has happened. He talked about a past case where the station Booischot was wrongly called “Goebelsmühle,” a place in Germany. This happened because of a similar coding error. These kinds of mistakes are not done on purpose, and they are trying to fix them.
Crols emphasized that the goal is to keep each station’s name correct. Bilzen will always be Bilzen, and Booischot will always be Booischot. He said that it is important to have the right codes to avoid confusion for passengers and to make sure the correct stops are announced.
“Even though the telegraphic codes have been fixed in the database, passengers travelling to Bilzen still need to get off at the “Fieberbrunn” stop”. Crols say.
Bart Crols, a spokesman for NMBS, said that while the database has been updated, each train needs to be updated separately. This is because each train has its system that needs manual updating during maintenance. Bart Crols said that the updates happen when a train comes in for regular maintenance. It has been said that it may take some time before all trains have the new station codes. Until then, passengers might still hear the wrong announcement during their journeys.
