The rhythms of trains have inspired composers since the dawn of the age of steam.

Johann Strauss composed his Eisenbahn-Lust (Railway Delight) Waltz in 1836, just as continental train travel became a possibility.

Mikhail Glinka caught the train travel bug in 1840 and composed his Travelling Song. In 1923, Arthur Honneger famously paid musical tribute to the power and velocity of the locomotive in his Pacific 23. 

The clicketty-clack of wheels on rails and the chuff of pistons also propelled countless blues and country songs and was the pulse of early rock ‘n’ roll songs such as Elvis Presley’s Mystery Train.

Now, in an Australian first, composer-producer Paul Mac is paying tribute to Sydney’s suburban railway system in a project that sees two Sydney train routes turned into a mobile electronic music and light experience: Tekno Train.

Part of this year’s Vivid Sydney programme, Tekno Train welcomes passengers aboard two rail services to experience an original techno soundtrack and an accompanying light show inside all carriages. What’s more, the rhythms and tempo of the music and lights will adjust to match the train’s speed and the changing landscape outside.

Mac scoped out two 60-minute rides for...