Train surfing

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Train surfing is a dangerous (and usually illegal) thrill-seeking activity which involves riders clinging or "surfing" on the outside of a moving train while trying to avoid falling off during its acceleration. Practitioners are usually young people (under 25). Potential accidents include collisions with poles and viaducts/tunnels, electrocution from an electrified overhead wire or third rail, injury when falling/jumping off, getting run over by the train itself, and getting crushed between the train and a station platform.

The practice is a serious issue in South Africa, where many young people have been killed or seriously injured. It is also on the increase in the United Kingdom. While there are no official numbers, the London Underground is now running an advertising campaign against "tube surfing". The advertisements now at most underground stations show a female figure with one arm and the caption "she was lucky" next to it. The medias of Denmark have also recently shown a slight interest in the phenomenon. During the second half of 2005 and first of 2006, there has been several inputs both in newspapers and (especially regional) TV-news about the dangerous hobby. The channel TV2 even aired a short 8-minute documentary (exact date May 15th, 2006) about train surfing, interviewing the traffic chief of the Danish Railways (DSB for short) Erik Christensen, a hospital doctor in plastic surgery and two anonymous train surfers. The links for them are below. No officially reported accidents have happened in Denmark so far and therefore no statistics, according to medias and spokespersons. This may indicate that the young Danes are very aware of their actions and careful in opposition to kids in for instance Soweto, where the problem is at its highest.

The 'sport' was made popular in the 1980s in Germany. There it was called "S-Bahn Surfing". Slowly the former trainsurfing culture changed got integrated in the German graffiti culture. And the phenomenon was long forgotten until the millennium. But in 2005 it was rediscovered by a gang from Frankfurt, Germany. The leader of the crew--who called himself "The Trainrider"--famously surfed the InterCityExpress, the fastest train in Germany. He died a year later from an incurable form of leukemia, according to a home-made video showing his ride, but there is some controversy about whether this is true or not.

The influence of train-surfing has become far-reaching. In Perth, Western Australia, there was a brief period where fearless suburban daredevils flirted with the world of train-surfing. The seemingly harmless exercise culminated in the death of a number of youths on the westrail electric train line[citation needed].This prompted safety measures in and around westrail stations to increase; Resulting in a subsequent drop in train-surfing levels.

No one seems to know where, when or who first invented or performed train surfing, although reports from Denmark like above also state the hobby was practiced during the 1980s and apparently forgotten until several years after 2000. Quoted and translated from the Danish train surfing documentary, the traffic chief of Danish State Railways said: "When we were children this was about climbing around on the back of the train, but it has now advanced in extent to where it's getting more dangerous." According to his expression and considering his age, train surfing might even have existed for over 30 years.


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  • A weblog post claiming that the Trainrider may have faked his death. The post contains an anonymous comment claiming to be from a friend of the Trainrider, who says he is very much alive.
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