The boy initially declines to board, but jumps aboard the train as it pulls away.In a passenger car, he befriends a spirited and amicable girl, and a condescending know-it-all. Outside, the train's conductor (Tom Hanks) introduces the train as the Polar Express, bound for the North Pole. As he struggles to sleep, he is roused by the arrival of a steam locomotive on the street outside his home, and dons his robe to investigate, tearing the robe's pocket as he retrieves it. Storyline: The Polar Express (2004) On the night of Christmas Eve, a Grand Rapids, Michigan boy is growing bitterly skeptical of the existence of Santa Claus.