A train passenger in New Zealand has been lambasted this week after photographs emerged showing him lounging across four separate seats while a mother and her baby were forced to stand in the aisle.

The incident, which occurred near Auckland, prompted passengers to call the train manager, who was also unable to resolve the issue, the New Zealand Herald reveals.

According to witness Stuart Dawson, who boarded the train at 7:18am last Wednesday morning, the male cyclist was sleeping across the quartet of seats, preventing any of the standing passengers from sitting down. When the mother and baby boarded at the next station and were unable to take a seat, Mr. Dawson discreetly caught the attention of the train manager to rectify the situation. 

However, upon being approached by the manager, the cyclist became hostile and incredibly rude, swearing at the official in an intimidating way. As Mr. Dawson explained:

“He went up and asked the cyclist to move and the guy just said “get f****d”. He said that a couple of times. The manager then said, “if you continue doing that I’ll let you off at the next stop”. ‘The cyclist repeated what he said, saying “f**k off” and went back to sleep. The manager then walked off and did absolutely nothing.”

Dawson went on to reveal:

“The train manager actually went up to ask her if she was okay. She wasn't happy and looked rather uncomfortable. He [the cyclist] was not a nice character to deal with.” 

He added that, since he hadn’t seen the woman again on the rail service: "I guess the passenger may have been put off catching that particular train."

In a statement issued after the incident, Transdev - the company responsible for managing Auckland Transport lines - declared:

"Antisocial behavior like this is uncommon on rail services. We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers," a Transdev spokesperson told the Herald. These include conflict resolution and customer service training for our staff. Train managers are supported by staff in other roles in deterring antisocial behavior.”

"Onboard staff will call police when an incident justifies this. We are pleased the Train manager followed her training by checking on the needs of the affected customer, and that the situation did not escalate."

A train passenger in New Zealand has been lambasted this week after photographs emerged showing him lounging across four separate seats while a mother and her baby were forced to stand in the aisle.

The incident, which occurred near Auckland, prompted passengers to call the train manager, who was also unable to resolve the issue, the New Zealand Herald reveals.

According to witness Stuart Dawson, who boarded the train at 7:18am last Wednesday morning, the male cyclist was sleeping across the quartet of seats, preventing any of the standing passengers from sitting down. When the mother and baby boarded at the next station and were unable to take a seat, Mr. Dawson discreetly caught the attention of the train manager to rectify the situation. 

However, upon being approached by the manager, the cyclist became hostile and incredibly rude, swearing at the official in an intimidating way. As Mr. Dawson explained:

“He went up and asked the cyclist to move and the guy just said “get f****d”. He said that a couple of times. The manager then said, “if you continue doing that I’ll let you off at the next stop”. ‘The cyclist repeated what he said, saying “f**k off” and went back to sleep. The manager then walked off and did absolutely nothing.”

Dawson went on to reveal:

“The train manager actually went up to ask her if she was okay. She wasn't happy and looked rather uncomfortable. He [the cyclist] was not a nice character to deal with.” 

He added that, since he hadn’t seen the woman again on the rail service: "I guess the passenger may have been put off catching that particular train."

In a statement issued after the incident, Transdev - the company responsible for managing Auckland Transport lines - declared:

"Antisocial behavior like this is uncommon on rail services. We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers," a Transdev spokesperson told the Herald. These include conflict resolution and customer service training for our staff. Train managers are supported by staff in other roles in deterring antisocial behavior.”

"Onboard staff will call police when an incident justifies this. We are pleased the Train manager followed her training by checking on the needs of the affected customer, and that the situation did not escalate."