Brandon Manitoba - Two train hoppers appeared in court on Thursday after getting caught trying to catch a ride to Vancouver the night before.
 
Timothy Barry and Rosemary Lucas both pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court to violating the Railway Safety Act by accessing the rail lines on 1 Aug 2018.
 
Members of the Canadian Pacific Police Service saw a man about to jump on a train destined for Vancouver, B.C., and contacted Brandon police, Crown attorney Brett Rach said.
 
Officers caught up with the train in Alexander and found two train riders, later identified as Barry and Lucas, hiding in the belly of a container car.
 
The two admitted to getting on the train in Brandon near the grain elevators, Rach said.
 
Both Barry and Lucas have no roots in the community, said defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett, and have no fixed address.
 
They spend time travelling across Canada either by train or hitchhiking, Fawcett said, adding the overnight stay in custody was a stark wake-up call as to the risks of hopping trains.
 
"It's a dangerous practice. We've certainly heard of people who try to get on a train and don't quite make it and end up injuring or killing themselves," Judge Donovan Dvorak said.
 
"It's also trespassing, it's on private property. You're not supposed to be there."
 
Taking into consideration the night Lucas and Barry spent in custody, Dvorak handed each of them a $130 fine.
 
Erin Debooy.