A man is facing charges for allegedly climbing atop a moving Via Rail train in eastern Ontario earlier this week, in what police are calling an incident of “train surfing.”
On Wednesday at about 3 p.m., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers for the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry area responded to a train stopped on the tracks northwest of Alexandria, Ont., a town located about 100 kilometres east of Ottawa. The train had departed from Montreal and was headed to Ottawa.
Passengers who later spoke to CBC Ottawa said the train was stopped in the middle of the woods while en route. Police eventually came to apprehend the man, ultimately delaying the train for hours.
A 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., has been charged with mischief and “enter on land on which a line work is situated,” according to an OPP release issued on Thursday. The latter charge stems from the Railway Safety Act.
It’s not clear if the man was initially a passenger or not.
The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall, Ont.