According to The Straits Times, announcements by an SMRT train driver with a BBC-like accent caught commuters by surprise this week. Commuter Laurane Lim shared the audio clip with Yahoo Singapore, and it promptly went viral.

Instead of the mechanical announcements drivers make, this one on a train heading towards Jurong East on the North-South Line in the morning peak on Thursday sounded like it came from a newscaster. A comical one, at that.

"If you're planning to leave anything behind, please make sure it's something I can either use or sell," he said with wry humour. "Otherwise, please remember to take all your belongings with you."

Other examples include "Since it's a Thursday today, what you do today will determine whether tomorrow will be a 'thank goodness it's Friday' or 'oh goodness, it's Friday'".

Operator SMRT insists the announcements - executed with perfect diction - were 'live' and not pre-recorded. According to spokesman Patrick Nathan, SMRT is encouraging its train captains to be more spontaneous in their announcements and to add on some human touch to the prepared messages that they have been using.

SMRT has apparently taken a leaf from London Underground, where train drivers are known to make announcements in a tongue-in-cheek fashion to lighten the atmosphere in often crowded, stifling carriages.