Auckland train instructor delights passengers with song

An Auckland train instructor delighted passengers this afternoon when he broke into song.

The instructor, who identified hmself as Neill, was making a routine announcement on the intercom system when he decided to cheer the passengers up by singing a song.

Tyler Asselin, who was travelling on the 4.47pm Eastern service from Britomart, said a few minutes after the train left Britomart Neill asked him to move over because he had to use the speaker located where he was standing.

Thinking he was just going to thank them for using the train as the instructors normally do, the passengers were given a much warmer welcome than expected.

“I was on the train on the way home and it was packed as it normally is around 4.30 to 5 o'clock so every one was kind of standing on top of each other and when the train started moving the train manager guy went over to the intercom and started signing a song to everybody about train safety and it was really cute.”

Mr Asselin, an American citizen on a working holiday visa, said he had never seen a train guard sing and that it had really brightened his day.

“I’d go home at that time every day and it was nice because everybody is just stacked on top of each other and it’s just a part of their daily grind on the way home on the train and so it was really nice to break up that monotony of being on the train every day and it seemed like everyone really enjoyed it and it was a great way to lift their spirits and it was a good way to end the day for a lot of people.”

He said that everyone on the train seemed to enjoy the performance which wasn’t just a quick couple of lines.

“Everybody started clapping and it was great. The song went on for quite a while. I thought it would just be a quick thing, but it was a good couple of minutes of singing there.”

The performance, which focused on train safety and being careful when it was very busy, caught the passengers by surprise so no one had time to record Neill’s song.

Mark Hannan, Auckland Transport's media relations manager, said the council-controlled organisation encouraged its train managers to have fun and some did this by entertaining their passengers.

"We think it's great when they engage with passengers in this way. There are a few who entertain with jokes or songs and the feedback from customers is excellent."