Man 'surfs' on moving train after leaving his luggage on board

The 20-year-old took drastic action after realising he had left his belongings behind

A young German man flung himself on a moving train to retrieve luggage (file pic) (Getty Images)

A 20-year-old man in Western Germany surprised onlookers as he leapt on a moving train after leaving his luggage in a carriage.

The commuter train was departing Hamm central station for Dortmund shortly after 11pm on Thursday when the man realised his error.

According to Westdeutsche Allgmeine Zeitung, it was at this point the young man from Witten jumped on the back of the moving train.

Fortunately, a train driver on another platform noticed him and immediately notified the driver, who activated the emergency brake and came to a halt about 150 metres from the platform.

When the police arrived the man said he was trying to stay with his luggage but the doors had closed too quickly for him to go back inside, the paper said.

The man, who was unharmed, was reprimanded and the police have reported launched a criminal investigation into the incident citing what they called a “dangerous intrusion”.

The man was single-handedly responsible for delaying ten trains for a total of 171 minutes.