"Everyone jump upon the peace train." Lyrics written by Cat Stevens became reality today in Christchurch after the famous musician, now known as Yusuf Islam, donated a physical peace train to the city in the wake of the 2019 mosque attacks.
Squeals of delight were heard on board the miniature electric train named 'Chuggers' as it made dozens of loops of South Hagley Park, which neighbours the Al Noor Mosque.
“It just made my heart sing,” Mayor Lianne Dalziel said as she watched the first trip depart.
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Dr Kate Dewes took her two grandsons on the first ride of the day and said it was an emotional experience.
“To mark the 12th anniversary of the earthquake, to go round around our beautiful city in this train that's been gifted to us because of the pain of our city, to have little ones screaming with excitement and waving to everybody, I was surprised how many tears came.”
Her grandson said it was “exciting”.
The battery-powered Wattman mini express ACS train was gifted to the city by Yusuf Islam, the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens.
He travelled to Christchurch two weeks after the attacks to perform his 1971 hit Peace Train at the remembrance service.
The singer, formerly known as Cat Stevens, came and sang in the city two weeks after the terrorist attacks. (Source: 1News)
It’s the second one in the world. There is another in Turkey.
Yusuf had two conditions for the train. He wanted it to be free to ride so that people could access it, and he also wanted it to run in the centre of the city.
A team of 40 volunteers will help man the peace train, which will run every first and third Sunday of the month, except in winter.
One of those drivers will be Rashid Omar. He lost his 24-year-old son Tariq on March 15.
He took a ride today as a passenger and told 1News that the night before his son died, his son was talking to his mum when he listened and heard the song Peace Train by Cat Stevens/ Yusuf Islam.
“He was saying, that’s a nice song mum and she mentioned who the singer is. It’s so fitting to have this peace train donated by Yusuf Islam Foundation. It’s just amazing”
“I’m sure he’s happy what I’m doing now”.
There are also elements inside the train that promote peace, including conversation starters.
“We’re trying to bring across the peace message, as I will not want to see this (terror attack) happen again, ever ever again in my life," Omar said.
“We want riding on the train to be a prompt for them to have a good think about the things they can do at school at home in their community to promote kindness,” said Christchurch City Council Parks programmes and partnerships manager Kate Russell.
The first day of the peace train proved popular with all rides booked up by midday, with some waiting up to two hours for a seat.
“Crowd control’s been my biggest worry. I’ve always known we would have crowds here. It’s a happy problem to have," Russell said.
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