History Main / TrainEscape

* In the 2007 ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, Sam is chasing his "stolen" car when it runs over train tracks just before a train passes, cutting Sam off. Also, later in the movie, a concerned Mikaela follows Sam on her scooter and is cut off by a police car.

* [[spoiler:Scott Dunn]], the [[spoiler:SerialKiller]] BigBad of ''Series/{{Castle}}'s'' episode "Boom!", manages to escape Beckett in a foot chase by getting on a subway.

* ''Film/EnemyOfTheState'': Creator/WillSmith and Gene Hackman still have time to duke it out mano-a-mano while the pursuers are stuck behind the train.

* ''Literature/{{Hilda}}'': in ''Hilda and the Great Parade'', when running from [[TheBully Trevor]] with the unconscious raven, Hilda loses him by jumping across the train tracks just before a train passes, and Trevor is thus forced to wait.

* In ''Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar'', Franchise/{{Tintin}}'s car just barely makes it past a train, which delays his pursuers. Unfortunately, their car catches up with his in the mountains.
** Subverted in the Franchise/{{Tintin}} adventure ''Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair'', as pursuer Tintin manages to stay on the bad guys' tail.
*** And used straight in ''Recap/TintinCigarsOfThePharaoh'' when Tintin jumps onto a running train to escape his pursuers.

* ''WesternAnimation/WatershipDown'' (1978), a group of protagonist rabbits who were trying to get away from an Efrafan patrol are saved in this way, after it [[DecapitatedArmy runs over the Efrafan officer]]. The escapees interpret the train as a messenger sent from the rabbit sun-god, Frith, but the Efrafans have a better understanding as their warren is near the railroad.

* ''Film/TimeChasers'' (''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode): a tractor pulls across the road, cutting off the pursuers long enough to give the DesignatedHero a healthy lead.
* In ''Film/{{Next|2007}}'', thanks to the main character's future-viewing powers, we get to see him both crash into the train ''and'' escape thanks to it.

* ''Anime/DetectiveConanFilm24TheScarletBullet'' opens with a hostage attempting this. Fleeing with his hands bound behind him, he makes it to a station and jumps on to train just as it is about to leave. However, just before the door closes, his pursuer shoots him InTheBack, killing him.
* In the eleventh ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' movie, our heroes got on a train that was about to depart to evade Zero's Magnemite/ton/zone. Conveniently, they were never asked for tickets, much less to pay for the windows they busted when fighting against Zero's Pokemon when they were eventually found...

* ''Film/{{Blade}}'' grabs the end of a train with one arm while holding the love interest in the other. The train pulls them to safety while dislocating his arm.

* In ''Film/{{Unknown 2011}}'', the hero notices that he is being followed but manages to escape his pursuer by boarding a car at the Berlin subway right before the doors close up.
* In ''Film/{{Mirage 1965}}'', the hero escapes the henchmen by quickly getting onto a bus that rushes off before his pursuers arrive at the station.

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** The ClockKing, in the episode of the same name, uses this trick to make a dramatic exit after his first face-to-face encounter with Batman: "I don't know what to tell you, Batman... except that the 9:15 is always six minutes early."
** Also, in "MadLove" the Joker falls off a ledge onto a train's roof during a chase scene. He tries to taunt Batman, [[StealthHiBye only to find him standing right behind his back]].
* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail: Fievel Goes West'': Tiger manages to catch the train to escape a pack of dogs. Who should he meet inside but the engineer's dog?
* Hermes and Bender hop a train to escape Mom's killbots in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Lethal Inspection".

The Train Escape comes in three distinct flavors:

See also VehicleVanish. And please, DontTryThisAtHome.

All three variations of this trope often work as a way to artificially extend the plot, as the bad guys get away and the heroes have to go look for them all over again.

Compare RailCarSeparation when both pursuers and pursued are on a moving train, and the character(s) being chased unhook a part of the train to separate them and escape. Also see OffBridgeOntoVehicle.

!!!Train separation
Both pursuers and pursued are on a moving train, and the person(s) being chased unhook a part of the train to separate them and escape.

Compare OffBridgeOntoVehicle.

Although it should go without saying, that any attempt to do these in the real world will most likely end with the person being pursued getting killed by the train. A single locomotive weighs hundreds of tons, and the train behind it is often thousands of tons or more. They ''will not stop'' on a dime if something appears suddenly in front of it.

* In ''Film/{{Next}}'', thanks to the main character's future-viewing powers, we get to see him both crash into the train ''and'' escape thanks to it.

Doesn't work as much today, with most modern trains having a) automatic doors or b) doors that are locked before departure. So nowadays the quarry jumps on ''top'' of the train, and sit down gasping while their pursuer is left in the dust. In modern "{{Wuxia}}" films, the pursuer will follow, resulting in TheClimax -- a TraintopBattle. As with Type 1, street traffic (generally a semi truck) can be used instead of an actual train.

** ''Point Blanc'' combines Type 1 and Type 2. Snowboarding down the mountain towards the railroad tracks, Alex uses a passing freight train to block enemy guards on the other side of the track with a machine gun, then jumps on to the top of the train to get away.

* ''Literature/AlexRider'': ''Point Blanc'' combines Type 1 and Type 2. Snowboarding down the mountain towards the railroad tracks, Alex uses a passing freight train to block enemy guards on the other side of the track with a machine gun, then jumps on to the top of the train to get away.

''''''Do not, under any circumstances[[note]]Unless you're trying to escape with your life, and this is your only option.[[/note]], cross an active set of tracks with a train coming.''''' [[Website/DarwinAwards You will most likely not survive the attempt.]]

Do not, under any circumstances[[note]]Unless you're trying to escape with your life, and this is your only option.[[/note]], cross an active set of tracks with a train coming. [[Website/DarwinAwards You will most likely not survive the attempt.]]

* Done quite by accident in ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge: Follow That Monkey''.

* ''Film/TheBourneSupremacy'': Bourne evades police at a train station, and eventually gets away on one. DoubleSubverted. The train doesn't leave right away, his pursuers close in, and Bourne has to get off the train, then double back. The second time he boards, the train leaves.

* An odd variant of this trope comes in ''Series/KamenRiderDenO''. The titular hero's train, the [=DenLiner=], is capable of travelling through time and space, as well as lay its tracks down on any surface, [[UpToEleven even on thin air]]. This means that it can literally swoop down out of nowhere and allow the heroes to simply jump on board, or scoop them up while travelling at max speed.

* ''Manga/CaseClosed: The Scarlet Bullet'' opens with a hostage attempting this. Fleeing with his hands bound behind him, her makes it to an el station and and jumps on to train just as it is about to leave. However, just before the door closes, his pursuer shoots him InTheBack, killing him.

* ''Film/KingOfTheRocketmen'' (1930s serial film)
* ''Film/WeirdScience'': one of the protagonists evades a police chase this way.

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan: The Scarlet Bullet'' opens with a hostage attempting this. Fleeing with his hands bound behind him, her makes it to an el station and and jumps on to train just as it is about to leave. However, just before the door closes, his pursuer shoots him InTheBack, killing him.

* In ''Film/PowerRangers2017'', the Rangers pull this trick to escape from the police after discovering the Power Coins. [[spoiler:[[RealityEnsues They get reamed by the train, and the only reason they aren't reduced to mulch is because the Power Coins have already turned them into superheroes.]]]]

** By "on", we literally mean ''on'': [[CrazyAwesome Faith trainsurfs subways, and jumps from one to another, to escape the bad guys]].

!!!'''Type 1'''

!!!'''Type 2'''

!!!'''Type 3'''

[[folder:Type 1]]

[[folder:Type 2]]

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* In ''Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar'', {{Tintin}}'s car just barely makes it past a train, which delays his pursuers. Unfortunately, their car catches up with his in the mountains.

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* ''King Of The Rocketmen'' (1930s serial film)

* ''WesternAnimation/WatershipDown'' (1978), a group of protagonist rabbits who were trying to get away from an Efrafan patrol are saved in this way, after it [[DecapitatedArmy runs over the Efrafan officer]]. The escapees interpret the train as a messenger sent from the rabbit sun-god, Frith, but the Efrafans have a better understanding as their warren is near the railroad.

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* ''Bright Lights, Big City'': Jamie hops on a departing subway train to escape from his estranged brother.

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* Gavin boards a train on the Underground to escape from Patient #12 in ''WebVideo/KateModern: The Last Work''.

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* Done by Creator/BusterKeaton in the short ''Film/TheGoat''; he also accidentally leaves behind a flatcar full of soldiers in the same way in ''Film/TheGeneral''.
* Done during both the {{Traintop Battle}}s in ''Film/TheLoneRanger''.

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See also VehicleVanish. And please, DontTryThisAtHome