Monday, April 28
Two teenagers killed while “surfing” the S-Bahn near Wannsee
The illegal practice of “S-Bahn surfing” is one of the most dangerous stunts carried out by young people in Berlin, frequently resulting in death or serious injury. That was the case again this weekend, when two teenagers – one 17, the other 18 years old – were fatally injured while joyriding on the roof of the S1 train between the Schlachtensee and Wannsee stations.
The accident occurred around 05:20 on Sunday morning, when the two teens were on the roof of the train and collided with a signal bridge about 300 metres past Schlachtensee station. The police operation briefly interrupted traffic on the S1 and S7 lines, but service has since returned to normal.
An especially tragic aspect of this dangerous phenomenon is the age of the victims, frequently young men. In February of this year, a 12-year-old was seriously injured when he crashed into a bridge while riding an S-Bahn in Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Many of these accidents occur on the same stretch of track: the S1 line, particularly between Yorckstraße and Mexikoplatz.
Despite the high risk of death or injury, the practice remains popular. Videos of people riding on the roofs of Berlin subways, S-Bahn trains, and even BVG buses often garner thousands of views on Instagram and TikTok.
