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View all search resultsStone-throwing at trains may be sign of deeper social issues
Lack of education and poverty may have played a role in recent incidents of stone-throwing at moving trains, an act that is often committed by children from communities living near railway tracks.
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A local train passes through Rangkasbitung on June 18 in Lebak regency, Banten. (Antara/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas )
R
ecent incidents of stone-throwing at trains, often by children, may show more than juvenile delinquency, with experts arguing that the incidents stem from a lack of education and poverty among communities near railway tracks.
State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) recorded at least 81 cases of vandalism, including stone-throwing at moving trains, within the first half of the year. In Greater Jakarta alone, at least 20 cases were recorded in the same period.
The latest incident took place in Banten, where an unknown person threw a stone at a Commuter Line urban train serving the Tanah Abang-Rangkasbitung route on Wednesday.
The train was going from Citeras station to Rangkasbitung terminus in Lebak regency, Banten, when the stone hit, causing its front cabin windshield to shatter. Citeras is the penultimate station in the Rangkasbitung direction.
The incident in Rangkasbitung took place roughly a week after another happened involving the Jakarta-Bogor Commuter Line urban train on July 11, hitting a newly imported trainset from China that just started operation in the region.
Security officers have arrested perpetrators in both incidents and pledged to punish them in accordance with prevailing regulations.
Earlier this month, a similar incident happened to a Sancaka train en route from Yogyakarta to Surabaya. A stone thrown at the train shattered a glass window, causing injuries to two passengers.
