A 77-year-old man was arrested Friday night after allegedly trespassing on railway tracks of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line in central Japan and disrupting bullet train services, police and the railway operator said.

Katsuichi Sakurai was found crouching inside a tunnel at around 11:30 p.m., more than three hours after alighting at Sakudaira station in Nagano Prefecture, they said Saturday. He is believed to have walked about 10 kilometers from the station.

The police arrested Sakurai for violating the shinkansen safety law by trespassing on the tracks. He has admitted to the allegation, they said.

East Japan Railway Co. stopped the bullet trains on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line twice between Takasaki and Nagano stations while the police and station workers searched for Sakurai.

More than 9,000 passengers were affected by the delays and a cancelled train, according to the railway operator.