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Man Killed on Roof of Indonesian Train
Mary Anugrah Rasita | February 15, 2012

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Serigala-Berbulu-Domba
11:15am Feb 15, 2012

One would think that it's more likely that the three passengers hit the utility pole, rather than the utility pole hit the three passengers.


serenityjam
10:47am Feb 15, 2012

What a waste of human life!

Train riders who continue to climb up the train's roofs are asking for disaster to happen to themselves.

Kereta Api Indonesia is doing its best to stop unnecessary deaths by passengers who heap on the risks themselves.

We just have to keep on reminding people we know who ride in these trains NOT TO IMITATE what others do to show off their ability to climb atop the train.

Barbed wires (maybe non-conductors to electricity like hard plastic) would be ideal but, again, KAI will be blamed if a stubborn passenger hurt himself in the process. Safety must be the major concern of both the passengers and the service provider of transportation.


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Despite seemingly endless measures taken to help prevent people from riding on train roofs, the dangerous practice continues unabated, resulting in yet another deadly incident in Jakarta over the weekend.

One person is dead and two more are in critical condition after they were hit by a pole as they clung to the side of a moving train in East Jakarta late on Sunday.

Mateta Rizalulhaq, a spokesman for state railway company Kereta Api Indonesia, said the casualties were not caused by equipment the company had recently installed over the track to deter roof riders.

“Witnesses and officials at the site said that they were trying to climb on the roof,” Mateta said, adding that the three had been hit by an utility pole.

Ironically, he said, there had been plenty of room for passengers inside the train.

KAI has been criticized for its steps to deter people from riding on the roofs of trains, with many arguing that the trains were often so overcrowded that commuters had little choice but to ride on their roofs instead.

But Mateta said in this particular case, the people had not done so out of necessity.

“I think it is in their nature to act really brave, although it is totally unnecessary and deadly at the same time,” he said.

Train roof riders, as well as those who hang outside the cars, are violating a 2007 law on railways and face up to three months in jail as well as fines of up to Rp 15 million ($1,700), he said.

“In Japan, trains won’t start running if the doors have not closed. However, in Indonesia, people actually put in wedges to prevent the doors from closing,” Mateta said.

He urged people to abstain from the practice for their own safety, saying that in 2010, 43 people had fallen from train roofs and nine had died. In 2011, there were 37 cases with six fatalities.

“There are already five cases since the start of January this year, with one fatality,” Mateta said.

In January, KAI began to install concrete balls dangling just above the height of the trains. Swinging brooms and slick coatings on the car roofs were also implemented in an effort to deter fare-dodging roof-riders.

While KAI reports that these steps have successfully reduced the number of free-riders, it beefed up its deterrent efforts again with iron bars at the beginning of February.

The state-owned company also plans to replace fiberglass bars currently placed across and above rail tracks with iron ones.

The fiberglass bars — dubbed “cowboy doors” by some because they formed the classic shape of saloon doors in old Western films — have failed to deter passengers because they were too light and easy to destroy.

“KAI will continue to implement any new system necessary to prevent commuters from climbing onto train rooftops,” Mateta said.

Posters and banners displayed in and around train stations also attempted to dissuade would-be roof-riders.

“We are actually not under any obligation to take such security precautions under the law,” Mateta said, urging members of the public to help ensure that trains can run safely.