Cape Town train surfers put lives at risk on daily commute

Youths in Cape Town risk electrocuting themselves by "surfing" trains during the morning rush-hour in shocking video captured earlier this month. Filmmaker Ricardo Afrika followed the perilous journey of a man known only as Skate over several days in April. Skate makes the 40km commute nearly every day between Cape Town and Khayelitsha station by riding on top of the train. At first, Skate can be seen dangerously jumping onto a moving train at Cape Town's Netreg station. He is then seen standing on top of a carriage and ducking out of the way of overhead cables on the fast-moving train. At one point on the moving train, he narrowly avoids an overhead bridge by pulling off a backbend move from the "Matrix" movies. "He train surfs to feed his adrenaline," explains Afrika. Local operator Metrorail has urged people not to train surf but despite this, Skate performs this dangerous stunt nearly every day as part of his commute to and from work. The dangers are real. In late 2017, a man was electrocuted by overhead power lines near a station. At that time, Metrorail regional manager Richard Walker was quoted by local media as saying: "We appeal to commuters not to put their lives at risk by travelling on top of the train. Hanging on to the outside of the train or travelling in front of the drivers is dangerous, and commuters who do so risk life and limb, as this tragedy proved." Metrorail has said that commuters caught train surfing will be arrested and face criminal charges. Approximately 230 people die in train-related accidents annually, mostly due to human error and neglect, local media has previously reported, citing Metrorail figures.

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