Baby born on Paris train given free travel until he turns 25

Getty Images/iStockphoto
Getty Images/iStockphoto

A baby born on a Paris train on 18 June was awarded free rail travel on the network until he turns 25.

The mother went into labour at around 11am on the busy RER A line that runs from east to west Paris.

After stopping at the Auber station in central Paris, the train was evacuated and further trains were halted in both directions on an especially busy section of the commuter line for 45 minutes as a consequence of the new arrival.

Approximately 15 people assisted with the birth, including emergency workers, police and railway staff.

“The RATP congratulates the mum and intends to offer the child free travel on its network until he is 25 years old,” a spokesperson told AFP.


The tiny tot wasn’t the first to be born while travelling. Last year, a passenger travelling from Dammam in Saudi Arabia to Kochi in India gave birth on the flight. Fortunately, a trained paramedic was aboard and, coupled with the quick actions of the cabin crew, the baby was successfully delivered before the plane touched down.

In 2012, a bus driver in Hackney helped a woman give birth on the number 106 bus. Vently Hewitt, who had been a bus driver for 12 years, pulled over, escorted 20 passengers off the bus and assisted paramedics with their equipment, resulting in the arrival of a baby boy less than 30 minutes later.

A baby born 15 weeks prematurely on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the middle of the Caribbean in 2015 spent 78 days at Miami Children’s Hospital before returning to his family home in Utah.