Is Train Hopping a Felony or Misdemeanor? Charges and Penalties

Train hopping is usually charged as a misdemeanor trespass, but whether it stays a misdemeanor or becomes a felony depends almost entirely on what else happens while you’re on railroad property. Boarding a freight train without permission is illegal in every state, and the charge can escalate quickly once damage, theft, injury, weapons, or interference with rail operations enter the picture.

The Default Charge Is a Misdemeanor

Simple railroad trespassing, meaning you’re on railroad property without permission and nothing else is going on, is a misdemeanor in virtually every state. The Federal Railroad Administration’s model legislation treats basic trespass on railroad property as a misdemeanor offense.¹

Railroad property is broader than most people assume. It covers tracks, rail yards, train cars, locomotives, bridges, trestles, signal equipment, and the right-of-way strips running alongside the rails. That land is private property even where there’s no fence. The only legal way to cross is at a designated pedestrian or roadway crossing.² You don’t need to actually ride a moving train to be charged. Walking the tracks, cutting through a yard, or climbing onto a stopped car is enough.

For a first-offense misdemeanor, the FRA’s model framework recommends fines up to $100 and jail time up to 30 days.¹ Many states impose higher fines in practice, commonly a few hundred dollars up to $1,000, with jail exposure that can reach a year.

When Train Hopping Becomes a Felony

The misdemeanor ceiling breaks when aggravating factors enter. The FRA’s model legislation identifies several situations that push the charge to felony level:¹

Reckless vandalism that causes more than $500 in damage to railroad property or causes bodily injury.
Trespass that leads to serious bodily harm or death.
Deliberately damaging railroad property or endangering someone’s safety.
Having a dangerous weapon while trespassing, or shooting at a train.
Stealing railroad cargo or receiving stolen railroad property.

Felony penalty ranges under the model framework are substantially harsher than misdemeanor exposure. Reckless vandalism causing injury or more than $500 in damage can carry up to a $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison, plus restitution. Vandalism causing serious injury or death can reach a $20,000 fine and 20 years. Stealing railroad freight carries up to a $5,000 fine and five years.¹

States set their own thresholds and penalty ranges, and many have adopted laws similar to the FRA recommendations.³ Exact numbers vary by jurisdiction, but the pattern is consistent: once you cause damage, take something, hurt someone, or carry a weapon, you’re looking at felony exposure.

When Federal Charges Apply

Most train-hopping cases are prosecuted under state law. Federal statutes apply in specific situations, and the penalties are significantly steeper.

Boarding a Train With Criminal Intent

Under 18 U.S.C. § 1991, anyone who enters a railroad train, car, or locomotive with intent to commit murder or robbery faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Entering with intent to commit any lesser crime against a person or property on board is punishable by up to one year.⁴ The statute applies on federal land, in U.S. territories, and in places under exclusive federal jurisdiction. Prosecutors don’t have to prove you completed the crime, only that you boarded intending to commit one.

Interfering With Railroad Operations

A separate federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1992, targets anyone who knowingly interferes with railroads engaged in interstate commerce. The conduct it covers is broad: derailing or disabling equipment, tampering with signal systems, placing hazardous materials on railroad property, interfering with a dispatcher or engineer, damaging a grade crossing warning signal, or even gathering information to plan an attack. Conspiracy and attempts are included. Penalties reach 20 years, and if someone dies as a result, the sentence can be life in prison or the death penalty.⁵

Railroad Police Have Real Authority

Railroad companies don’t rely on local police to patrol their property. They operate their own police forces, and those officers have genuine law enforcement authority. Under 49 U.S.C. § 28101, a railroad police officer certified in one state can enforce the laws of any state where the railroad owns property.⁶

A carrier like BNSF or Union Pacific owns property in dozens of states, which means its officers can arrest you in any of them. Their jurisdiction covers railroad employees and passengers, railroad-owned property and equipment, freight moving in interstate commerce, and defense-related materials shipped by rail.⁶ Officers can also be temporarily assigned to a different carrier and keep their full authority. Yards and known hopping points are patrolled, often with cameras, drones, and motion sensors.

Additional Charges That Get Stacked

Train-hopping cases rarely stay a single count. Prosecutors routinely add charges based on what happened during the trespass, and each one carries its own sentence.

Vandalism, from spray-painting a railcar to breaking a freight-door lock, is a separate offense. Deliberate damage above $500 or that endangers safety crosses into felony territory under most frameworks.¹
Theft of cargo, equipment, or scrap metal from a railcar is a felony under the FRA model and most state laws.
Obstruction of rail operations, such as placing objects on tracks or interfering with signals, can trigger 18 U.S.C. § 1992 and up to 20 years in federal prison.⁵
Assault, if a confrontation with railroad police or anyone else turns physical.

Two or three stacked counts can turn what began as a misdemeanor trespass into years of combined prison exposure.

What a Conviction Costs You After the Sentence

The fine and jail time are the beginning, not the end. A felony conviction limits job prospects because most employers run background checks, and many industries require clean records. Housing applications routinely ask about criminal history, and landlords can legally deny you based on a felony. A felony also strips your right to own firearms under federal law and, in many states, suspends your right to vote until the sentence is fully completed.

For anyone working in or near transportation, the consequences can be career-ending. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential, required for unescorted access to secure areas of ports and certain transportation facilities, has a list of disqualifying offenses. Simple trespassing isn’t specifically named, but a felony conviction involving a “transportation security incident” is a permanent disqualifier, and being under indictment for a listed felony disqualifies you during the pendency of the case.⁷ A hazardous materials violation involving a release that causes death or injury can carry up to 10 years on its own.

The Risk Behind the Legal Question

The legal exposure sits on top of a physical one. Railroad trespassing is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in the United States, with more than 500 trespass fatalities every year.² FRA data for 2025 recorded 789 trespass-related fatalities and 526 injuries. A loaded freight train at 55 miles per hour needs more than a mile to stop, modern welded rail makes trains quieter than people expect, and the gaps between cars that look climbable are crushing hazards. The question of whether you’ll be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony assumes you walk away to be charged at all.

1
Federal Railroad Administration. Railroad Trespassing Fact Sheet
2
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration. Trespass Prevention
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 20151 – Railroad Trespassing, Vandalism, and Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Sign Violation Prevention Strategy
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1991 – Entering Train to Commit Crime
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1992 – Terrorist Attacks and Other Violence Against Railroad Carriers and Against Mass Transportation Systems on Land, on Water, or Through the Air
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 28101 – Rail Police Officers
7
eCFR. 49 CFR 1572.103 – Disqualifying Criminal Offenses