Enthusiastic waving and joyful greetings at railway stations as families are reunited for Christmas is an uplifting part of Graham Parker's work.
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The XPT passenger attendant from Dubbo is in a team that looks after people and gets "them to where they want to go" - even on December 25.
"You see the faces at the platforms waiting for them and looking to see which carriage they're in and the arms are waving, particularly if there's little kids involved, they get really excited," he said.
"We've seen a lot of that this week, lots of people are already getting home early, possibly because of the COVID issues that have just sprung up in Sydney... it's great seeing all those happy excited faces, people are reconnecting with people, and that's what Christmas is all about."
But when Mr Parker starts his shift early on Christmas Day, he knows there could be mixed emotions felt by passengers on board.
You have some people who travel because they don't have a family or don't have something to do on Christmas Day...
- XPT passenger attendant Graham Parker
"You have some people who travel because they don't have a family or don't have something to do on Christmas Day, and some people travel wholly and solely for that feeling of camaraderie with the other passengers on the train," he said.
"...I think human beings, we like to spend time with other people, or most of us do.
"So that's one way of getting to have some time with other human beings on a day when the whole world tends to come together."
That's in addition to the people who are making a last-minute trip home, or those from different backgrounds, the team member said.
Through his working life Mr Parker has had a number of roles, including manager of a Sydney Centrelink office, business owner, employment consultant and more, but it's in his current role that he's found a true calling.
"I love this job, it's a great job, I wish I'd got on to it about 20 years ago," he said.
"If you like people, it's a really, really good job.
"And that's part of it, you really do need to like people, because you get people on the train - you know, everyone's different, you'll get happy people, you'll get sad people, you'll get cranky people...
"While we've got them on board, we look after them, and we get them to where they want to go."
Working the Christmas shift is not fazing him one bit.
He said he would be working in the buffet - where roast turkey will be on offer - before arriving at Dubbo.
"Then after we get the train cleaned and turned around, I will go home and have Christmas lunch with my family," he said.
"...it's not just us who are working on Christmas Day.
"Our garbage man comes on Christmas Day here in Dubbo, so that means there's a group of guys or girls... they're out there doing garbage collections.
"And you've got people in hospitals, you've got your nurses, your doctors, your emergency services people, you've got people in garages selling bags of ice to people on Christmas Day...
"There are so many people working on Christmas Day, all really to help out everybody in the community, and we're just one small part of it."
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
