Police are investigating an incident in which a teenage boy was filmed jumping from a moving train for a prank and then bragged about it on Facebook hours later.
Metro and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union have condemned the boy’s reckless act, saying it endangered other passengers as well as himself and distressed Metro staff.
The boy, 17, was filmed by friends jumping onto the platform at Watergardens station while the train was still moving at about 40 km/h.
He immediately lost his feet and crashed to the ground, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the platform.
Incredibly, he was not seriously injured, and got back on the stationary train.
The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon at about 3.30pm, on a Sunbury-bound train.
It is understood police were notified some time after the boy posted the footage on his Facebook page.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Luba Grigorovitch said she was shocked by the footage, and that it was fortunate nobody was badly injured.
She said drivers and station staff too often had to pick up the pieces when passengers behaved recklessly and endangered themselves or others.
“The behaviour is absolutely idiotic and it causes unneeded stress for our station staff, for the drivers and of course the fellow passengers,” Ms Grigorovitch said.
Metro spokeswoman Larisa Tait said the prank had been captured on CCTV at the station, as well as being seen on social media, and that the CCTV footage was in the hands of police.
“This type of behaviour is reckless and dangerous and it needs to be understood that if you choose to behave in this stupid way and brag about it on social media, then you will be dealt with by police,” Ms Tait said.
“The train was travelling at approximately 40 km/h so not only could this teenager have seriously hurt himself, he could have hit and seriously injured one of the five customers that were waiting on the platform nearby.
“In this case, this person was incredibly lucky and so were the five customers that they weren’t hit.”
The teenager’s friend was able to hold open the door because they were travelling in an older Comeng train, many of which are due to reach the end of their service lives in the next few years.
More recently built trains do not have door handles.
Ms Grigorovitch said it was a case for investing in more new trains in which it is not possible to force open the doors.
