Ross Newth, the man behind ‘The Train Voice’ spills industry secrets

Ever wondered who is behind SEQ’s train voice overs reminding you which train line you are on? We’ve got the deets.

If you’ve travelled on the train in South East Queensland you might be familiar with the gentle voice over reminding passengers to “mind the gap”. But did you know the man behind the voice also has recorded commercials for Subway, Oz Lotto, McCafe and NINE News?

Ross Newth is a seasoned voice actor, having spent 23 years in radio all over the country.

“After 20 years I decided that I might do voice overs just to fill in the time before I got a real job, ‘’ he said.

Ross Newth, the voice behind the South East Queensland Rail announcements. Picture: Supplied

“I’m still filling in time waiting for a real job.”

Becoming the voice of Queensland Rail wasn’t easy. Following a successful audition for the role in 2011, Mr Newth recorded around 2000 announcements in less than two weeks.

Mr Newth said that as he isn’t a frequent traveller on trains he doesn’t have to worry about getting annoyed at hearing his own voice, however the same can’t be said for his son.

“When my son was going to uni he was catching the train quite a bit and he used to get quite annoyed that his father was telling him where to get off, where to get on and what station he was at,” he said.

The Narrator Man. Picture: Supplied

“He just couldn’t get rid of me.”

Mr Newth has given his voices a different name, as he thinks of them as different identities. He has said he is most proud of his ‘Narrator Man’ voice. For the last five years he has been narrating the award-winning ‘Fun Fables’, a podcast written and produced by his oldest son.

Mr Newth works full-time and has said his wife wants him to work until the day he dies in order for her to retire.

“All she needs to do is place a microphone somewhere and wheel me up to it, that’s her plan.”

Mr Newth advises those looking to enter the voice acting industry should be open to reinventing themselves.

The Train Voice. Picture: Supplied

“You’ve got to keep yourself on the radar,” he said.

“There’s always someone fresh.

“Particularly advertising agencies, they want fresh people and they don’t always want to try the same ones.”

Despite his success with Queensland Rail, Mr Newth has clarified that his train expertise only goes as far as knowing which station services a particular line.

“I’m not an expert on trains whatsoever, and for some reason, people think that I am.”

Listen carefully the next time the TV is on as you might just hear one of Mr Newth’s personas.