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Elderly man drives car along railway in Hokkaido

An elderly man drove his vehicle along railroad tracks in the town of Shiraoi on Tuesday
An elderly man drove his vehicle along railroad tracks in the town of Shiraoi on Tuesday (TBS News)
HOKKAIDO (TR)- Train services were disrupted after an elderly man mistakenly drove on his vehicle along rail tracks in the town of Shiraoi on Tuesday, reports TBS News (Oct. 11).

According to Hokkaido Prefectural Police, the man, an 83-year-old resident of Kushiro City, drove his vehicle along the tracks of the JR Muroran Main Line over a distance of about 1.2 kilometers at around 10:00 p.m.

A person witnessing the incident pressed an emergency button, halting trains. There were no reports of injuries.

The man told police that he began traveling along the railway after making a mistake at a crossing. “When I realized that I was running along the tracks, I got stuck in trying to exit at the next crossing,” the man was quoted by police.

In security camera footage, the vehicle is seen passing by a station platform.

According to JR Hokkaido, a freight train made an emergency stop about 600 meters from the incident. As well, two regular service trains were canceled and three express trains were delayed.