Woman gives birth on Paris train!

PARIS: A woman gave birth on a Paris train on Monday, prompting the French capital’s transport network to offer her newborn boy free rail travel until he turns 25.

The train stopped at the Auber station in central Paris as the woman went into advanced labour and the baby was born at 11.40 am, helped by around 15 people including emergency workers, police and rail staff.

Trains were halted in both directions on a particularly busy section of the RER A commuter line for 45 minutes due to the “unexpected” incident, Paris transport operator RATP said. The train was evacuated during the birth, a spokesman said.

“To our knowledge, everyone is doing well,” he said of the mother and baby. “The RATP congratulates the mum and intends to offer the child free travel on its network until he is 25 years old.” Valerie Pecresse, head of transport in the Paris region, also offered her congratulations, but added in a tweet: “Thoughts with the travellers too.”