WARNING: Strong language

A WOMAN was subjected to a vile racist tirade on a Sydney train because she spoke on the phone to her mother in Spanish, with the footage posted to Facebook.

But it’s the brave passenger that stepped in to help her that has everyone talking.

The victim, Natalie Soto, recorded the incident on her phone and it shows a woman mocking her in a bad accent. “Speak no English,” she can be heard saying on the footage. “Why should we have to listen to f***ing rambling?

“Speak it in your own home, don’t speak it in public,” she continues.

Then a young woman sitting close to the abuser piped up. “We are in a multicultural country. Unless you’re Aboriginal you have come from a different country to live here. We’re all from different cultures.”

The ranter replies, “We speak English in this country. If you can’t speak it in public don’t speak it at all.”

An exasperated Ms Soto then hits back. “Lucky for you, I speak multiple languages and I can understand exactly what’s going on. Just block your ears, what’s your problem?”

Another passenger, apparently referring to part of the encounter which occurred off camera, then says, “So her speaking another language is not OK but you saying the C-word in front of children is OK?”

Ms Soto, from near Liverpool in Sydney’s west, told news.com.au she was on the train heading to her job as a retail assistant in the CBD yesterday morning when she decided to call her mum.

She said she noticed a middle-aged woman, sitting a few seats in front of her, getting increasingly agitated. Ms Soto then alleged she began hurling insults at her, including calling her “retarded”.

“The lady in front of me was getting really upset and I didn’t think it was about me until she turned around and said ‘get this disgusting wog off the train’,” Ms Soto told news.com.au.

“She was getting really aggressive so I hung up on my mum, but it just continued.”

The two-minute video begins just after the initial outburst with other passengers shaking their heads in disbelief.

Someone travelling with the woman seems embarrassed by the whole episode and attempts to mollify her by getting her to listen to some music on his phone.

Ms Soto said the woman seemed surprised when she replied, “She thought I wouldn't communicate back in English and when I did it was a pretty good surprise.”

She said while she was brought up speaking Spanish, she tried hard to master English as a child and “ended up speaking better English than many kids”.

Nevertheless, the ordeal left her shaken. “The whole day was a blur, it really affected me. Afterwards, I didn’t want to call my mum because I was so self conscious so I texted her instead.”

Ms Soto said she had experienced racism previously.

“The moment I start speaking another language people are either, ‘wow what a beautiful language’ or ‘get off the train’,” she said.

She said she was overwhelmed by the support of other passengers.

“The two people that vocalised their opinions I was very happy with,” she said. “The man next to me said Spanish was a really beautiful language and he was just about to complement me and see if I could teach him some words but she [the abuser] interrupted him. And it wasn’t that girl’s responsibility to support me, but she did.”

Ms Soto said she regretted not thanking the young woman in person.

“I’m very shocked that these things happen in Sydney but I feel like when they are, they are very quickly shut down,” she said.

“I’m impressed that people understand Australia is a multicultural society and I feel the people saying something bad and trying to vilify others are in a minority.”

In September, Lindsay Li was waiting for a bus when she was subjected to a racist tirade that was so vicious she feared she might be attacked.

Ms Li was in Willoughby, on Sydney’s north shore, when she alleged a woman approached her, spat on her and then struck her with a trolley.

When Ms Li got on the bus the woman turned towards her and began verbally abusing her, which Ms Li captured on her mobile phone.

The woman can be heard on the video telling Ms Li “we all know what you are, China”, and to “take your f***ing language and piss off, f***ing chink”.

Ms Li claimed no one on board the bus who witnessed the abuse came to her aid, including the bus driver.

The alleged attacker was later arrested, reported Channel 9.

Ms Soto said she always tried to be polite when faced with racist abuse and hadn’t yet reported the incident to Sydney Trains or police. The woman and those with her departed the train at Central.