Meet the veteran voice behind SEPTA’s Regional Rail announcements

Coffee cup in one hand and a cigarette in the other, hair brushed back, his top buttons unbuttoned, and speaking into a microphone with as much stately presence as broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, his jacket resting over the back of his chair, is how Inquirer reader Jesse Bernstein imagines the voice behind SEPTA’s Regional Rail announcements.

Eager to know this mysterious character’s identity, he asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region: Who is the voice of SEPTA? Is it a recording?

Bernstein was 13 when he first associated that voice with home. The Montgomery County native would wait for what was then called the R5 local announcement to know he was taking the right train home.

“Even when he’s announcing trains are being delayed, there is something comforting about the way he speaks,” said Bernstein, now 46.

For a young boy, that cadence was vital through cancellations, changes, and weather-related emergencies. As the years went by, the voice accompanied his rides to adventures with friends, first dates, and internship interviews.

More than three decades later, as Bernstein waits at Jefferson Station for the Lansdale/Doylestown line to go visit his parents, he can’t help but wonder whether the soundtrack to his childhood is still out there or whether the voice is a mix of a recording and artificial intelligence.

“There’s such a specific rhythm to [the voice]; it’s confident, it’s authoritative, it’s warm,” Bernstein said. “But, can it possibly be the same guy still in a room somewhere doing it?”

Inside SEPTA’s headquarters, a tall, skinny figure emerged from behind two computer monitors, surprised that the interest in his voice had not died out.

“Hello, I am Alvin Elliott,” said the man with a deep voice and kind eyes.

Elliott does not hold cigarettes but does have Wawa and 7-Eleven coffee cups decorating his desk. His hair is not brushed back and his buttons aren’t undone; instead, he sports a salt-and-pepper afro and wears a navy blue half-zipped Transportation Communication Union jacket.

He works from a U-shaped desk — surrounded by monitors, office supplies, and a small silver microphone — in an open-floor layout. From here, his omnipresent voice resounds when transportation predicaments arise.

With SEPTA experiencing a lack of funding, needing updated infrastructure, and dealing with frequent inclement weather, Elliott keeps himself on his toes scanning the lines for track changes, listening to reports the control towers send, and looking at the cameras to ensure he knows what’s happening across the Regional Rail network.

“Whenever there’s a problem, [commuters] don’t know how soon it’s going to be resolved, and that anxiety is with [them],” Elliott said. “When I fail to make an announcement, I feel responsible for letting the people down.”

But, Bernstein has never felt let down by one of Elliott’s announcements.

“I get plenty mad at SEPTA, but never at him. He has this nice way of making it seem like he’s as upset about it as we are,” Bernstein said.

That’s because Elliott is a commuter himself.

The 73-year-old travels on New Jersey Transit to Jefferson Station near 12th and Market Streets in Center City. Many times, he is affected by the same transportation troubles as any other commuter.

He has held various positions at SEPTA since 1985. He was originally hired as a conductor trainee, then worked in passenger service, and at the control towers.

The latter is how Philadelphians first heard his voice. His coworkers encouraged him to audition for SEPTA’s former Market East station, now Jefferson station, when the agency was looking for a voice to announce the arriving trains in the early 1990s.

It wasn’t a paid position — he volunteered his voice — but it became a cornerstone for creating the job he, and six other people, now hold.

“My voice gets the most recognition, but there are other people who make announcements, as well,” Elliott said, recalling his first announcement partner, Denise, and giving credit to his current shift partner, who was keeping a watchful eye on the train lines while he talked to an Inquirer reporter.

The announcers work in shifts. Elliott is live as needed from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. But, his voice can still be heard 24/7, 365 days a year.

Elliott announces schedule changes, delays, emergencies, and weather alerts live from his desk.

But the arrival announcements heard as trains approach their tracks are recorded.

Elliott himself has heard his announcements while waiting for his train.

“Is that what I sound like? I don’t hear what other people hear,” he recalled thinking the first time he heard his voice coming out of the speaker.

After years of exposure, and continuous compliments from people, the announcer now believes that he has “a decent voice.”

“People compliment me about it often enough, so it must be true,” he said with a laugh. But, he has not let it get to his head, indulging people with quirky requests — such as composing voicemail greetings for someone’s friend or relative — when they find out he is the voice of SEPTA.

After 36 years of service, the man who once wanted to be a trolley driver is not slowing down. His love for trains, and his voice, make announcing an enjoyable job, he said. So, he isn’t planning on retiring any time soon.

That’s good news to Bernstein, who “can’t imagine riding the Regional Rail and not hearing him.”

“The city’s changed so much ... but that voice has just been this constant,” he said.

Elliot views his voice as his legacy to Philadelphia and SEPTA. When the time comes to hang up SEPTA’s microphone, he hopes to get a chance to work on the radio.

In the meantime, he will continue to use his voice to let passengers know of any hassles — and to tease his wife by reading the names of scary movies out loud in a slow, deep tone.