Man in Perth clings on to windscreen wiper of train travelling at 110kmh

A 23-year-old man was arrested after he clung on to the back of a moving train in Perth on Saturday (Sept 23) afternoon.

Motorists on the Mitchell Freeway watched in horror at the sight of the man clinging on to the windscreen wiper of the train that was travelling as fast as 110kmh.

ABC News reported that the man had hopped on the train at Leederville station.

A Main Roads employee who was monitoring traffic, spotted the man around 4.30pm between Leederville and Glendalough stations and immediately informed the authorities.

"He was clinging on to a windscreen wiper. Were he to fall, it's a very unfriendly and unreceptive surface with ballast and rail and concrete sleepers, he would have almost certainly been killed, if not badly injured," said Public Transport Authority (PTA) spokesman David Hynes.

By the time PTA officials responded, the train was about to stop at Glendalough station. They monitored the man on CCTV as he went into the carriage, and detained him at the next stop, Stirling station.

He was taken to hospital for a mental health assessment, and could face trespassing charges as he had committed the act on PTA property.

Mr Hynes said it was the first time the PTA has been made aware of a train surfer during the act itself, because footage of the incidents generally only get posted online after the event.

"They want to get on YouTube, they want mainstream publicity so they don't try to get themselves caught, so we don't often know about it until it's well after the event."

Minister of Transport Rita Saffioti said the incident will be investigated, along with why the train was allowed to continue its journey towards the station after the man was spotted, according to ABC News.

"People shouldn't be acting stupidly around our rail line. These are serious pieces of infrastructure and they can cause death and of course they can cause serious injuries," she said.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.