The local trains of Mumbai are, as the old cliché goes, the city's lifeline. They are celebrated in movies, songs, art and literature.
Paradoxically, though, because of congestion, thousands of people die while travelling on the local trains each year. Thousands more are arrested or booked for travelling on top of them.
In the video above, a daredevil in Thane, near Mumbai, pays no heed to any of these facts and not only decides to travel on top of a moving local but does it standing, so that he can avoid any poles and wires in his path at the last minute. So close to death was the man that a slight touch from one of the wires would have resulted in instant electrocution. Police are on the lookout for him.
Stunts involving Mumbai's local trains came to widespread attention after a group calling themselves the "Reay Road Boys" uploaded a video of "train surfing (hanging on the side of train and jumping and avoiding any obstacles in the way)" to YouTube in 2011. In a 2015 interview, one of the boys advised people not to take his route to internet infamy as he had been hounded in the aftermath of the incident by railway authorities.
Like flies to a light source, there's something about trains that makes people want to put themselves in danger. In 2014, Canadian Jared Frank decided to take a selfie next to an oncoming train. A passenger wasn't pleased and landed a well-aimed kick on poor Frank's face.
Frank had the last laugh, though. He turned the video into a money-spinner with licensing deals and YouTube views. Go figure. But don't try stunts on – or even in – a train.
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