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Africa's first high-speed rail line, shown here shortly after its launch in 2010 in Johannnesburg, had 34 people detained after they dropped their trousers and skirts and took a pantless ride from Rhodesfield, east of Johannesburg to Sandton in the city's north. (AFP)
Dozens of men and women who tried to emulate New York's "No pants Subway Ride" on South Africa's first high-speed train were arrested and fined, the rail operator said on Tuesday.
Gautrain said 34 people were detained after they dropped their trousers and skirts and took a pantless ride from Rhodesfield, east of Johannesburg to Sandton in the city's north.
"They were fined 700 rands (102 dollars/80 euros) which was reduced to 350 rands for taking off their clothes on the train," Gautrain spokeswoman Kelebogile Machaka told AFP.
The passengers were handcuffed and briefly arrested by police upon their return to Rhodesfield station, local media said.
"People were openly staring and laughing at us," Kuba Granicki, one of those who participated in the Facebook arranged prank, told South Africa's Beeld newspaper.
"They wanted to charge us with public indecency, but then realised there was no indecency," she added.
The trend of going pantless on trains has gained massive popularity and been copied in dozens of major cities and towns worldwide since it started in New York in 2002.
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