A passenger who evaded paying his fare on a high-speed train in Germany ended up clinging to the outside when he exited the station before he was ready to board, police said.
The 40-year-old had boarded an ICE train in Munich without a valid ticket and wanted to take a smoke break at the station in Ingolstadt.
But he lingered too long over his cigarette and the train doors closed, leaving him with the possibility of being stranded.
He then jumped onto an arch between two carriages and held on to the cables as the train headed towards Nuremberg at speeds of up to 282 km/h (175 mph), until he was stopped by federal police about 30 km away.
Witnesses informed officials and contacted the driver of the train, which made an unscheduled stop in Kinding in Upper Bavaria. The intercity express train was on a six-hour journey to the northern city of Lübeck.
The man, a Hungarian national, told police that he had left his luggage on the train during a cigarette break and did not want to leave.
A police spokesman said he was “surprisingly” unharmed after his reckless drive.
“A police officer from the state police who was traveling by train found the 40-year-old Hungarian passenger and brought him to the train,” the spokesman said, adding that he was handed over to the federal police at 10:00 a.m. Nuremberg Central Station.
The man is now being investigated for benefit fraud.
He is also expected to face charges of “an act that disrupts operations”, which is classified as a mere administrative offence.
Federal police have warned the public not to risk their lives on German trains.
