Perhaps you know this already, but not all trains belong to SMRT. Some of them belong to SBS Transit.
What you may not know, or have noticed, is that the announcer on an SMRT, and an SBS train, announces the stations differently — we’re hoping young Zavier isn’t tricking us.
A video of him explaining the slight difference was uploaded by his mother, ex-Mediacorp actress Jacelyn Tay, on her Instagram.
Ms Tay had left Mediacorp in 2006, and now runs a wellness centre called Body Inc. as a health coach and nutrition consultant.
In the post accompanying the video, Ms Tay writes that Zavier has always loved reading and researching about trains and buses in Singapore.
Since 4 years old, while other children were reading storybooks, he was tugging at her to buy bus guides and bring home MRT maps.
That penchant for the communal automotives becomes apparent as Zavier goes into detail about how the announcer on SMRT trains says things differently from the announcer on SBS trains.
In the 3-minute 40-second-long video, young Zavier makes known to us the subtle differences between the announcers at Bishan and Botanic Gardens interchanges.
SMRT train announcer: Next station, Bishan. Change at the next station for the Circle Line. Bishan. Please mind the platform gap.
SBS train announcer: Next station, Botanic Gardens, 植物园, Kebun Bunga, சிங்கப்பூர் தாவரவியல். Please mind the gap. Passengers may alight and change to the Circle Line.
We’ll let you spot the differences in the announcements. You can even go on board the train and observe them yourself.
Meanwhile, you can watch the full video on Instagram here.
Not unexpectedly, Internet users were smitten by the boy’s short performance. One even
went so far as to say that he will kidnap Zavier. Jocosely, of course.
Another imagined Zavier when he’s grown up.
Finally, one suggested that the trains play a recording of what Zavier said instead of the usual announcers just to add some liveliness to our train rides.
Zavier had said that Sengkang LRT belongs to SMRT while Bukit Panjang LRT belongs to SBS, but in fact, it’s the other way around. Sengkang LRT belongs to SBS and Bukit Panjang belongs to SMRT.
In any case, for an 8-year-old, having this kind of knowledge is commendable. We hope Zavier’s love for trains, buses and most importantly, knowledge, never ceases.
Featured images adapted from Instagram and Wikipedia.
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