We don't know what Argentinian commuters would make of it, but hundreds of Indian train passengers were apparently happy to oblige when the driver asked them to hop out and push.

According to Reuters, the unscheduled jump-start happened in Patna, capital of Bihar, after "a passenger pulled the train's emergency chain and it halted in a 'neutral zone' - a short length of track where there is no power in the overhead wires".

It took the emergency fare-paying labour more than half an hour to shift the train the 12 feet required to reconnect with the juice. Indian Railways spokesman Deepak Kumar Jha admitted: "In so many years of service in the railways, I have never come across such a bizarre incident." ®

Bootnote

Thanks very much to Mukesh for the tip-off.

Related story

• Argentinian commuters fight back (16 May 2007)