Indonesia Uses Canon Balls To Stop Train Surfers

JAKARTA – Train surfing or riding on the rooftop of a moving train is a major problem in Indonesia.

Every day hundreds of freeloaders sit on top of the trains or hang off the sides of the moving locomotive enjoying a free but dangerous ride.

Various attempts to stop the train surfers have failed. Now the Indonesian government is installing canon balls above the roofs of passing trains.

The government hopes this will finally deter potential free riders from climbing on the rooftops of the trains.

The canon balls are made of solid cement and dangle from heavy chains attached to an overhead metal bar, just inches above the rooftops of the moving locomotives. Anyone who gets hit by the swinging balls could get seriously injured, even be thrown off the train while it is in motion.

The first series of cement canon balls have been installed in Bekasi, West Java and if successful, the barricade will be setup throughout Indonesia.

“We tried razor wire mounted on the rooftop of the trains but people still managed to surf the trains,” said a spokesperson for the railroad.

“The cement balls seem to be a better solution.”

Being hit by a cement ball while the train moves at top speed could be deadly but the Indonesian railroad isn’t concerned with this “minor issue” saying: “We’ve told passengers often enough that if the train is full, we’ll be happy to refund the tickets”.

But train surfers aren’t impress with the railroad’s newest “innovation” to stop them from riding the trains.

“This won’t last long,” said one train surfer.

Trains in Indonesia are often loaded to capacity. This is especially true during rush hours. Many passengers climb on the roofs of the moving trains to escape the hassle of overcrowding.

Train surfers do admit however that by climbing on the roofs they don’t have to pay for a boarding ticket and ride the trains for free.

READ:
 India’s Dangerous Train Riders

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