The Minns Labor Government is taking action to stop the dangerous and growing trend of teenagers riding on the outside of the Tangara trains, with new safety devices being installed across the fleet to physically prevent people from accessing the back of trains.
The specially designed "nose cone" attachments are angled metal covers that block access to the tread plate between carriages - the area often used by so-called 'buffer riders' or 'train surfers' who cling to the outside of moving trains for social-media videos.
All 55 Tangara trains will be fitted with the devices by the end of 2026, with around a quarter completed by the end of this year.
The devices are being manufactured in NSW and installed at Sydney Trains' Mortdale Maintenance Centre.
The rollout follows a successful six-month trial that found zero incidents of buffer riding on the fitted train.
Buffer riding incidents have risen by more than 25 per cent this year, with 275 cases recorded so far in 2025, alongside 588 crew-cab break-ins.
Eleven people have been seriously injured in the past five years, including a 13-year-old boy who fell from a train at Caringbah in September.
New CCTV released today by the NSW Government shows teenagers clinging to the backs of trains in heart-stopping moments of sheer recklessness.
Beyond putting hundreds of young lives at risk, buffer riding and vandalism is having an increasingly negative impact on the on-time running performance of Sydney Trains.
Buffer riders target Tangara trains, with the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line most impacted by disruption.
In 2025, more than 3000 minutes have been lost to buffer riding and vandalism.
Having traditionally been a reliable line, the T4 is the second worst performing line in 2025, with disruption spiking even more during school holidays in line with reported incidents.
There has been 132 incidents of buffer riding so far this year on the T4, which represents almost half of all recorded incidents across the entire Sydney Trains network.
Preventing buffer riding and improving reliability on the T4 is part of the Minns Labor Government's focus on improving rail reliability in response to the Independent Rail Review. This includes:
- An investment of $458 million in rail maintenance, prioritising critical parts of the network where failures lead to widespread disruption
- Getting the new Mariyung fleet into service which allows for the retirement of the ageing K and V-sets
- The $447 million Tangara Life Extension Program which is upgrading 55 eight-carriage trains
Premier Chris Minns said:
"No viral video or adrenaline rush is worth risking your life for.
"This message isn't getting through to some people which is why we're acting to prevent this reckless, life-threatening stupidity.
"This is about safety and common sense. We're acting to protect lives, support our train crews and make the network safer and more reliable."
Minister for Transport John Graham said:
"The vision of teenagers playing Russian Roulette with 400-tonne trains is heart-in-mouth stuff that will be confronting to watch for all parents.
"We must end the buffer riding trend and the successful trial of the nose cone attachment on Tangaras means we can now get on with the job of physically preventing people stepping on to the tread plate in the first place.
"This is first and foremost a safety issue but if we can stop this happening the pay off will also be improved on-time running. The NSW Government is laser-focused on improving reliability on the Sydney Trains network.
Chief Executive of Sydney Trains Matt Longland said:
"We needed a robust and practical engineering solution to deter buffer riding, and we are confident this nose cone provides just that.
"Our staff will install the device on the front and back of the Tangara trains as a priority, and we aim to complete this on 110 cars across our 55 Tangara train sets by mid-2026.
"Reducing the incidence of buffer riding is a firm focus at Sydney Trains to stop people putting their lives at risk and reducing delays for train passengers across the network."
