Wellington - A freight train ploughed into and killed a 23- year-old Swiss man who was walking on railway lines in New Zealand, police said Monday.

Christophe Paul Breisinger, in the country on a working holiday, was hit at Raumati, 50 kilometres north of Wellington, in the early hours of Saturday. Police said they believed he was walking home after missing his station.

Breisinger arrived in New Zealand seven months ago and was scheduled to resume travelling with his girlfriend after finishing a job in Wellington on Friday, police said. (dpa)