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Train

493 bytes added, 26 January
→‎TGV
It's hard Standing near the train track with a thumb up to hitchhike on trains. But a train ? Not really but there are other ways to get free ride on a train rides...
Standing near the train track and be == Train hitchhiking train ? It hardly.But we can succeed.==
== If Before youboard a train one option is to go to the conductor and simply ask them if you can travel without a ticket. It works surprisingly often. You can make up a story why you need to take the train and why can're in an organised [[Hitchhiking competitions|t you pay. One option is to simply say that you got stuck hitchhiking (which might be even true). You could also invent better stories but they should be trustworthy enough. Some people had also success saying that they are part of a hitchhiking competition]].It depends on the kind of train, on your appearance and on the kindness of the conductor if they take you with.You'll be surprised how often they say yes. In that case you can just enter the train and relax. But well if they say no you can't take the train anymore since they already know that you have no ticket. ==
[[File:Trainaschaffenburgtonürnberg.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Photo taken while train - hitchhiking a train in Germany. Translation: "All aboard! But please only with a ticket." ...heeheehee let's jump.]]
== [[Train hopping]] ==In the [[United States of America|United States]], [[train hopping]] is still quite popular.In many states it's easier than hitchhiking.This is advanced jump style.then it But be careful on this type of train. It is very possiblereally dangerous and failure can caused death and of course, you can get high penalty too (Pounds 1000 in United Kingdom). Choose your Threat is not only penalty like inside train for passengers. == Tricks for avoiding the ticket control ==There are different aproaches for blackriding. Some people just sit and wait at when conductor comes give their ID and get a fine. If you are a foreigner the fine might never get you but it is not always the platformcase. Also in some countries (for example Germany) you can go to prison for not paying train fines. When So it might be wise to trick the conductors somehow and simply not get controled. Oncce you get into it you can have great success with crossing whole countries without any problems. Most important is to keep in mind that each train arrives, work out who the conductor and each situation is unique and run up that you need to him/heradapt and use different tactics accordingly. Explain your situation (using an  '''Hiding on a toilet''international language' such as English often  The most obvious trick is to hide on a toilet. The conductors of course know this classical trick but it still works best, often better than speaking surprisingly well. You can decide if you lock the door or not. If the door is locked the conductor's native language), show them some documentation for your competition can see it and might wait until you get out. If you don't lock the door they are likely to pass you but other passengers might want to go to toilet as well. For that reason you might want to sit there with your pants down like if you'd be shitting. It might be afraid wise to just go to begtoilet when they are controling and then get out of the toilet again. Telling IF you stay for an hour on a story about toilet it might raise suspicion. '''Hiding in a dangerous experience two hours ago luggage compartment''' It depends on a train but often fast trains have shelves for luggage. What you can do is to look for a shelve which is partly filled but still offers enough space for you to hide in there behind your backpack. It is of course not the roadside (true or most comfortable but it is nottoo bad either.It is actually quite fine..), After you hear the conductor walking by and how much asking people for tickets you want some safe can get out again and secure travel after take a seat. '''Dancing around''' The finest art of blackriding is to dance around the traumatic experience, works wellconductors. There are different dance styles and you can invent your own. By this time, the train is now running nearly You can pretend having a minute late phone call and there is a good chance that just pass the conductor will say Yes, because he needs while talking to a phone. You might also pass them with asking for a direction to end a train restaurant. If the conversation train has two floors well the conductor is in one and keep you dance through the train movingother one.. So get in, sit back and relax :). '''Running around the train'''
[[User:tmoon|Tom]] When you see a conductor controling get out of the train and run around on the outside and his two team-mates tried using this trick when enter the train through again in the [[Netherlands]] and [[Germany]] on [[Sheffield]] University's 'Bummit' hitchhiking competitionpart which was already controled. 9 out of 13 In some trains conductors we asked said Yes, and let us travel as much as we needed on their trains. It didndon't work when even look out of the train was either crossing an international border, or when it was stops in a high-speed train, station. In other trains they do which can make it impossible or the conductor just didn't want at least tricky to bend the rules.do this trick without them noticing.This trick is suitabe especially for regional trains with short distances between stops.
== [[Train hopping]] ==In the [[United States of America|United States]], [[train hopping]] is still quite popular. In many states it's easier than hitchhiking. This is advanced jump style. But be careful on this type of train. It is really dangerous and failure can caused death and of course, you can get high penalty too (Pounds 1000 in United Kingdom). Threat is not only penalty like inside train for passengers.''Short distance ticket'''
== General train styles In some countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania...) conductor usually checks everyone in the begining and guidelines ==Train hopping in Europe then just ask for new passengers. So what you can do is generally easy as countries don't have to buy only a good system cheap ticket to track finesone of the first stations and then stay in. This means They will remember that if they controled you have for example but not what was your final destination on a Spanish passport and got a fine ticket. This trick would not work everywhere since in many other countries (France, you won't get Germany...) they control everyone not in the fine ever, except if you move to France one day and get begining of a job etcjourney but at some random point during the trip.
There are different approaches to train hopping but it's good to keep in mind that the ticket inspectors are aware of all tricks and games. You can try and stay in the toilet for the whole journey but in some countries and trains they can unlock the toilet if they suspect you don't have a ticket, especialy in central Europe (Czech, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary). There are toilets checked by controller often especially in long-journey trains (EC, IC, SC). You could leave the door unlocked to try and fool them but that means every passenger would open the door as well... You can run around the train as well, trying to avoid the ticket inspector which may or may not work. These techniques may get you into more trouble and are generally not pleasurable but are very important for people with no ID since if you get 'Getting caught and the ticket inspector wants to write you a fine, they will ask for a passport and if you don't have one or refuse to give it it is very likely that they call the cops.''
So for people with ID, who are foreigners in the country, in most cases it is OK simply If you get caught you can try to find invent a quite place on the train, wait for the story (oh no where is my ticket inspector and kindly explain ? I had it right in my pocket.) or you can also just admit to them your situation (imaginary or not)that you have none. In a lot of countries the law says IF they are obliged to write ask you a fine (which for ID you will never have to pay as long as you give a fake address or can say you don't have one) but none and most of the time they may just kick you offout on the next stop and you'll take the next train. They may also threaten Sometimes they might want to call the policecops to get your ID. It depends on each person how they prefer to deal with this - whether to argue or not, whether to plea or not but just keep calm as if Generally some people think that when you get aggressive caught it is a valid reason better to get the cops on speak with conductors in English even if youspeak their language. In case They might think that you are just a ticket inspector actually calls the police without a valid reason (no ID, being aggressive) don't panic, the most that can happen is random hobo passing by and they search you and/or escort you off the train station.Generally, when choosing which train to take, opt for express trains - those with fewest stops, as you are unlikely less likely to get far with regional ones - and bother giving you may get stuck in a station where almost no trains stopfine. It's very useful to memorize (or write down) the timetable, so If it happens that you instantly know which get a fine it is the best train likely that it will never get to take after you get kicked out of the previous one.In central Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania...) - you can use jump style tat your home country since it is called short distant ticket trick. Conductor usually check only new passengers and he do not remember their final destination. So you buy ticket only so easy for short distance and you show it them to conductor. But after final destination on get the ticket money from you if you continue journey, sit and sleeplive abroad. This Often times it is not complete free, but cheap. More difficult jump style is similar. Blue jumpr come and he check new passengers. You are new like that but you do not respond (sleep, look out of window, read a book).Around some big cities - like Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo - there are local trains without regular checking, only sometimes groups of inspectors in uniforms come. It is easy with these trainsno guarantee. These trains has lot of stops and trains go often (once a 10-60 (120) minutes, close Sometimes the fines actually get to Helsinki even once a 5 min, around Stockholm once a 30-120 minutes, around Oslo L trains once a 30-120 min).High-speed trains are good, because they have big distance between stops 50-200 km or more = (Pendolino, IC, EC, SJ SnabbTaag, TGV, Freccigarossa, Treno Italo, ICE, night trains). But ticket checking is usually harder (conductors in both sides of wagon and toilet checking too - in Italian Treno Alta Velocita). Usually they kick you out or they ask for ID. Sometimes, they call police or they make extra stop for you in small station with not so many local trains (without waiting room) or even in fields. It happens rarely, if you have bad luck for conductor or if you are too rude. And sometimes they give echo to conductors in next high-speed train.
== Searching for train connection and stops during journey ==
In some countries the local websites for searching train connections don 't show you all the stops or are otherwise stupid. The website of Deutsche bahn is easy to use and knows most train connections all over Europe. It is also in English. www.bahn.com
PeterOB tried to write some schedules for trains in Nordic countries, where trains does not go so often. But the schedule can change and some countries (Sweden) has difficult schedule. '''Important is to find stops during journey, where you can be kicked out'''
Are the high speed long distance trains. TGV drives sometimes over 300km/h (I think it's 220km/h actually) which makes it to be an extremely fast mean of transport. You can be lucky and make even few hours journey without control but usually if you go far they will control. On a longer ride they might control second time. They don't do very often the kind of control when they'd ask for new passengers as in other countries. So usually they either control everyone or they don't control.
To avoid the control one can do all the typical tricks as hiding on a toilet or dancing around the conductor. It is not too dificult to cross whole France from one end to the other in one day without getting caught.
The problem with TGV is that in some stations they control tickets before boarding the train. If they do so there is usually few conductors standing at the gates so you can't really sneak in. In some stations(usually in smaller towns) they don't have the gates so you can just get in the train without any issue. To get out is no problem as the gates are always open for those who are exiting. In the end of this article there is a list of stations that are known to have or not have gates... To get through the gates you can buy a seat reservation on ticket machines in the trains station. Seat reservation costs 10 euros and it is enough to open the gate for you. In case the staff would ask you for your ticket as well you can tell them that you have interrail and that your phone is out of batery and that you need to charge it in the train. Usually they don't anything.
===Getting caught===
The fine for blackriding is 60 euros. If you don't pay the fine there are two options. First is that nothing happens. Second option is that they make a court trial with you and sentence you for certain amount of day penalties. That means that you either pay certain amound of money (probably lower hundreds of euros) or you go to certain amount of days in prison. Yes in Germany they regularly put people to jail for riding trains!
For Germans it is usually that the first fines don 't matter and they usually make you a trial after 3 or more unpaid fines. But thats just how it goes usually. It is no rule. It is unclear how it goes for foreign citizens. But what is important is that if it is cops giving you the fine and not just the conducter the likelyhood of getting a courtcase is much higher even if it is your first fine. So always avoid the cops if you can.
 
'''Geting arrested'''
 
If they catch you and you present ID they have no reason to call cops. If you don't give ID or if the conducter is especially asshole they might call the cops. In that case cops will be waiting for you on a platform. IT might be that after the conducter called cops they walk away from you and come back to you before the station. In that case use the chance and in the meantime go to other part of train and hide from the conducter. Change your appearence (scarve over your head, different clothes...) and get the fuck out without the cops or conducter noticing you.
Other times the conducter stays with you and you have no chance to get away. In that case the cops will take you with to a police station. If you present a fake identity they might believe you or they might not and in that case they might search your stuff, take finger prints, keep you bit longer and so on. IF you present your ID card they will write you a fine and let you go. The whole process is maybe 30 minutes. IT is not a big deal. If you are no german citizen nor residennt they might want you to sign a paper that you agree with having an adress for this case on a local court. Try to not sign this paper. If they force you to sign it (they might treaten you with keeping you longer if you dont sign) your adress is then on a local court and it is your resposibility to go there and check if there are letters for you. YOu will of course not go to a random courthouse every two weeks and then it is very possible that they make a court trial with you without you knowing about it and the next time german cops check your ID you will either need to pay certain amount of money or you go to prison(probably for about a week or two. If you got fined more times it could be even few weeks or months). So if this is the case that they caught you, cops wrote you the fine and you did not pay it is recomandable to carry always some money in cash with you (maybe 300 euros) when you go to germany so in case they control you that you can pay yourself out.
 
===Train companies===
 
Long distance trains are operated by Deutsche bahn. Many regional trains as well but some regional trains are run by other smaller companies. Some of these companies have a similar controling style as Deutsche bahn. Some are more active and strict with controling. Deutsche bahn conductors are usually not very active and blackriding can be relatively easy. With the other companies it depends.
===Personal experiences:===
Ludmil
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