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n an attempt to discourage railway passengers from riding on the roofs of electric trains, state railway operator PT KAI will use non-toxic spray paint on offending passengers for the next month.

Purnomo Radiq, director of the PT KAI Jakarta chapter, said the paint would be sprayed at departure stations on those riding on the roofs to make it easier for security officers at the arrival stations to identify and catch them.

“At the destination station, other personnel could easily identify them as having ridden on the roof of the train,” Purnomo said.

PT KAI tried this method before, in 2008.

The state railway operator said that 35 to 40 people were killed each year by electrocution while riding on the roofs of train cars or by falling off the trains while they were under way.

“We hope, with this campaign, there will be no more victims of the dangerous habit,” Purnomo said at a press conference.

Roof riders, illegal passengers who chose to sit on the tops of train cars, have been a problem for the train operator for years.

Purnomo said that, in the operation, the company would form teams of officers from the company, the Jakarta Transportation Agency, the police, the State Prosecutor’s Office and the District Courts.

Other than spray paint, PT KAI would also take more severe punitive measures.

First violation roof riders would have their identity record and sign a written statement that they would not repeat the violation.

Repeat offenders would face criminal charges and could be sentenced to three months in prison or a maximum fine of Rp 15 million (US$1,755).

Akhmad Sujadi, head of PT KAI’s security department, said that the company would take different measures against different types of roof riders.

He said that there were three types of rood riders.

“There are people who do it for fun and pride, others want to get a free ride and others climb up on top of train cars because they cannot get inside the carriages because it’s too packed,” he said.

The electric train is the cheapest and fastest form of transportation in the city. It attracts a large number of commuters, but its limited capacity means many have to sit on the roof during peak hours.

Sujadi said roof riders rode mostly on economy class trains, which have the cheapest fares of between Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,000.

PT KAI sells approximately 511,000 economy train tickets on average each day.