S-Bahn “Hijackings” On The Rise
S-Bahn surfing is on the rise. Reports of improper train travel in Berlin quadrupled last year, with teenagers posting their misdeeds to social media.
Monday, April 20
Zug fallt aus! Berlin's teenagers have always treated public transit like a playground, but new reports show that instances of "improper train travel" are skyrocketing, leading to cancellations and chaos.
Incidents classed under "improper train travel" include subway surfing, the dangerous game of riding the roof of a moving train, or trespassing into the driver's cab, and other forms of S-Bahn sabotage, including switching off the train's batteries or triggering the emergency brake.
Teenagers, usually young men, have increasingly been "paralysing" the S-Bahn as part of a wider social media trend, taking photos of themselves lounging inside the train's control booth and sharing video footage on TikTok and Instagram. One clip shows someone snacking on a chocolate croissant during a hijacking.
New data released by the Federal Police and confirmed by Berliner Zeitung has found that this trend has quadrupled in the last year. In 2024, police recorded 19 incidents of improper train travel, 16 of which were in Berlin. Last year, that number jumped to 79, 53 of which were in Berlin. And these numbers are just what's been recorded — the real data is likely much higher.
Such episodes disrupt life for Berlin commuters, as well as being dangerous for the brazen teens. In April last year, two teenagers died while S-Bahn surfing in Wannsee. The young men, aged 17 and 18, were riding on the roof of an S1 train when they collided with a signal bridge. "Trains and train roofs are not playgrounds," a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson told rbb after the incident.
To combat the popularity of teenage train sabotage, officials have asked schools to caution students against participating. The Federal Police are also increasing surveillance on the sections of the track that see the most incidents, and investigations are ongoing.
