Man survives after clinging on to German train travelling at 282 km/h

A man travelling on a high-speed train in Germany clung on to the outside of the carriages after failing to get back on after a smoke break, miraculously surviving speeds of up to 282 km/h, police said on Friday.

The man, a 40-year-old Hungarian national, boarded the train bound for the northern coastal city of Lübeck in Munich on Thursday without a ticket.

Yet, that was not the reason for the risky stunt, according to police. When the train stopped at the Ingolstadt station, some 70 kilometres north of Munich, the passenger stepped outside to smoke.

When he realized the doors had closed and the train had begun moving again, he jumped on the fixture between two carriages and held on to cable harnesses while the train accelerated to speeds of up to 282 km/h, police said.

Onlookers on the platform notified the police at around 3 pm. The driver stopped the train at the small town of Kinding, some 30 kilometres north of Ingolstadt, where the man was arrested.

When questioned by police, the man said he jumped on the outside of the train because his luggage was still inside.

The man “surprisingly” wasn’t harmed in the life-threatening incident, said a spokesman for the federal police.

He is now being investigated for his failure to purchase a ticket. He also faces proceedings for “disruptive behaviour” – which, however, is only considered a misdemeanour.