Concrete balls to tackle Indonesian 'train surfers'

Railway staff in Indonesia have started hanging concrete balls above train tracks to try to prevent commuters from riding on carriage roofs. The first balls were installed just above carriage-height near a station outside the capital, Jakarta. More will be put up elsewhere if they are found to keep people off the roofs.



Previous attempts to deter roof riders included spraying roofs with paint, spreading oil on carriages and hiring musicians to perform safety songs. Those initiatives have failed. Officials hope that the latest move will prove to be the ultimate deterrent. Roof riders also face the possibility of imprisonment. The balls - which can deliver a severe blow to the head - will be suspended a few inches above the tops of carriages at points where trains enter or pull out of stations, or where they go through crossings.

Officials said that "roof surfing" can be extremely dangerous. In 2008 at least 53 passengers died in an accident while travelling on a train roof. In 2011, 11 people were killed. Most victims are electrocuted by overhead power cables, but some fall off train carriages while trains are moving. Officials say they have tried everything to stop the problem - and even put rolls of barbed wire on train roofs - but nothing has worked. Officials say that if the latest initiative is successful, the project will be expanded.


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But the "roof surfers" themselves said that they are determined not to be put off. "I was really scared when I first heard about these balls,'' said Mulyanto, 27, who rides daily between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous. But I don't think it will last long. They have tried everything to keep us from riding ... but in the end we always win." Critics say that the problem of "roof surfing" will never be completely ironed out until there are fewer delays and enough trains to meet demand.