Freight hopping in the UK and Europe

As the U.S have been cracking down on freight hopping in the last few years I was wondering if any of you guys had experience in Europe or in Britain. I have no idea of the severity of fines or the likelihood of being caught and was looking for anyone experienced with freight hooping to give some tips or share some experiences,

This article and video are the extent of my research into the topic, so any info at all would probably be quite illuminating.

www.vice.com/en_uk/r... ...-in-europe

Thanks, Lewis

How are they cracking down on it in the US? Just bigger penalties if you're caught? Or are they increasing security overall?

As for doing it over here, I can't say much for Europe but I do know that I personally wouldn't do it in the UK. it doesn't really seem worth it. The trains are much smaller and less rider-friendly, the distances between stops are much shorter, the security is much higher because there's a lot less track to cover, there's no history or tradition attached to it in the UK and the BTP (British Transport Police) don't mess about.

Oh and we have electric cables all over our railways. I've seen enough video clips of people getting fried by 10,000 volts on the tops of trains to know to never ever mess with electricity.

Yeah, I think hopping in britain is a big risk for little reward. In the U.S security has been gradually increasing since 9/11, fines vary from state to state, but in certain places being caught twice can mean 30 days in the county jail. I think nowadays the likelihood of being caught is simply higher, the drivers are more likely to call the cops if they see you, whearas in decades gone by they would've just let it slide. I'm sure that you could still get away with it relatively easy now, but this video illustrates how difficult it can be if you're unlucky.

www.vice.com/en_uk/v... ...rican-hobo

As for europe I believe fines can vary, in Russia, I've heard the fine is only £20. However I have no idea about security.

Sweden pretty much has the same problems as those in the UK regarding freight hopping, Another problem is that freight might be left standing for days or even weeks, since quite allot of goods is transported with trucks to centralized storage facilities. When it comes to punishments for riding freight, i dont know what they are or how severe they are. I would expect fines or maybe a warning, dont know if you can end up getting jail time for freight hopping.