A 17-year-old boy is in a critical condition after falling from the outside of a train on the Sydney Harbour Bridge while he was likely train surfing, NSW police say.
Around 11.30am on Thursday, emergency services were called to the railway corridor between Wynyard and Milsons Point train stations following reports someone had fallen from a northbound Tangara train onto the tracks on the bridge.
A multi-agency operation took place, with a Careflight helicopter landing at Bradfield Park a short time later with a medical team, including NSW ambulance paramedics who administered assistance on the bridge before carrying the teenager 400 metres to safety.
The boy was transported by road to Royal North Shore hospital where he was being treated for multiple injuries including to his head, chest and pelvis. He was in a critical condition on Thursday afternoon, the hospital confirmed.
Luke Barrett, a police transport command inspector, said the boy was hanging off the outside of the train when the incident occurred and it was “likely” he was train surfing at the time.
He was with two other people, Barrett said, who were assisting police with inquiries on Thursday afternoon. They had not been placed under arrest.
“Initial inquiries and review of CCTV [footage] and speaking to witnesses that were onboard the service indicates the male person was riding on the outside of the train in an activity which is commonly referred to as ‘buffer riding’,” Barrett said.
“We would really like to take this opportunity to encourage any person that is considering or actively engaged in this type of activity to not get caught up in the social media hype, in the videos that circulate around … glorifying this type of activity.
“This is highly dangerous, it carries an extreme level of risk and the consequences should something goes wrong, which [it is indicated] has happened here today, can result in very serious injuries or possible death.”
Barrett said train surfing, particularly on the rear carriages, had been increasing, particularly during school holidays and the warmer months.
Barrett said the boy had not become trapped under the train when he fell and it was a “relatively straightforward extrication”. He said inquiries would continue over the coming days.
In September, passengers were barred from using the rear carriages of Tangara or “T set” trains, which run on the eastern suburbs, Illawarra, north shore, western and northern lines, including between Wynyard and Milsons Point, to prevent people from riding on the back of them.
The policy was in force in a limited way for select weekend and night-time services, but was extended to every Tangara train for the school holiday period.
Train-surfing on Tangara trains has been popularised on social media where people have posted their experiences illegally “buffer riding”.
In November last year, the New South Wales government announced new safety devices would be installed across the fleet to physically prevent people from accessing the back of trains.
The specially designed “nose cone” attachments block access to the tread plate between carriages – the area often used by “buffer riders” or “train surfers”, who cling to the outside of moving trains in order to film social-media videos.
There have been 12 serious injuries in New South Wales in the past five years, including a 13-year-old boy who fell from a train at Caringbah last September.
The acting chief executive of Sydney Trains, Jas Tumbler, said it was a “really tragic incident” that had occurred and said his thoughts were with the boy, his family and friends.
He said it had also been a “difficult situation” for first responders, who had to move the boy several hundred metres to safety.
“You just don’t mess or play with a 400-tonne train; there will always be significant consequences and these are life changing events that occur,” he said.
Tumbler said there had been around 600 incidents of train surfing in 2025 and were close to 150 this year, which was a large reduction.
But he added “each one of these incidents comes with a significant amount of risk”.
“It’s just not worth the five seconds of social media fame that you’re looking for,” he said.
“We’re doing everything we can to prevent this activity … but it’s a challenge, and we’re always chasing our tail in this space.”
Tumbler said transport for NSW were still working to install CCTV footage across all Tangara trains, which it hoped would be completed by the end of next year.
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