GARDAI finally caught up with a thief more than 150km from where he stole a car as he attempted to evade pursuing officers.

Passengers at Heuston train station watched in bemusement as gardai chased the 21-year-old criminal across train tracks before finally catching him.

The drama began at around 7pm on Tuesday when the man is alleged to have jumped into a silver Honda car which its owner had left running at Castle Street in Roscommon town.

The man drove off in the direction of Dublin in the car which was next spotted at around 9.30pm by gardai attached to the Dublin Regional Traffic Division at Palmerstown, west Dublin.

A garda spokesman explained: "The car failed to stop for gardai and was intercepted a short time later on St Johns Road West."

However, the suspect then got out of the car - which had travelled 155km at this stage - and ran into Heuston train station as gardai chased on foot.

The pursuit continued in the station with the suspect trying to flee as he was followed across the train tracks by officers who eventually caught up with him.

The arrested man who is a traveller criminal from Navan, was released from Kilmainham Garda Station yesterday after the bizarre incident which unfolded on Tuesday evening.

Sources said that the 21-year-old suspect is well known to gardai for burglary crimes and spends his time between Navan and the Birmingham area.

It is the second incident in the space of just over a fortnight in which a criminal has run onto train tracks in a busy Dublin train station.

Earlier this month, rush hour commuters watched in horror as two thugs chased after a young man in Dublin's Connolly Station before he was eventually rescued by Irish Rail staff.

In that incident the terrified 23-year-old, from Dublin's north inner city, jumped over barriers and across train platforms before he was saved by security.

kfoy@herald.ie