Well-‘trained’ thief: I’ve had 5,000 trips

A serial transit bandit testified in a special hearing that he has commandeered trains 5,000 times since his lifelong passion erupted at the tender age of 15 — when he was first arrested.

Darius McCollum, who has been busted more than 30 times for illegally driving buses and trains in the city, took the witness stand in a special hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society and to what kind of facility he will be committed at his sentencing.

McCollum, who has Asperger’s syndrome, took a plea deal in January to his most recent bust, for stealing a Greyhound bus, on the condition that he would indefinitely be committed to a psychiatric facility.

Brooklyn prosecutor Janet Gleeson asked, “How many times have you taken [MTA] trains in your life without permission or authority?” McCollum responded, “Probably a couple of thousand times,” noting he often wore MTA uniforms that he had gotten from retired transit-worker pals.

McCollum said that factoring in his hundreds of joyrides on LIRR, Amtrak and Metro-North trains, he had manned the controls some 5,000 times — despite no formal training.

He said his unofficial education in train operation started when he was just 12 and older MTA workers gave him pointers.

The hearing will continue June 8.