(Jakarta) In the Indonesian capital Jakarta known for its monstrous traffic jams, “zombies” have been called to the rescue to convince residents to take public transport.
Posted at 10:03 a.m.
The skytrain operator has transformed a train and a station into an apocalypse scene populated by zombies, and invited passengers to participate.
The paid attraction, offered by the megalopolis skytrain operator LRT Jakarta and event organizer Pandora Box, was launched last month to promote the still-new rail service and encourage locals to utilize.
In this unusual setting, actors in torn clothes roar and twist to impress the passengers. One of the characters, particularly frightening, has white globes instead of eyes.
The zombies advance shuffling towards the passengers, who flee through the dark tunnels of the station, before managing to board a train.
On a screen in the wagon, a TV presenter – another actor – claims that an epidemic of the “Pandora” virus is spreading through the city and turning the inhabitants into the living dead.
Soldiers equipped with fake guns fight with the “zombies” in an attempt to escort and protect the passengers.
But inanimate bodies wake up, and keep watch to emerge and terrorize the public.
“Watch out for zombies”
“Danger, watch out for the zombie,” warns a sign in the station where red lights flash as a sign of alert.
“The zombies didn’t really chase us but we panicked anyway,” Genesis Christi, a 17-year-old zombie fan, told AFP.
The attraction, called “Train for the Apocalypse” is inspired by Last Train to Busana South Korean horror film released in 2016 which was very successful.
“We want to tell young people that taking public transport is something cool,” notes Billy Junior, the manager of Pandora Box, to AFP.
With its 30 million inhabitants, the very polluted conurbation of Jakarta is often paralyzed by traffic jams and the lack of sidewalks does not encourage walking.
The first sky and underground metro lines only began to serve the capital of the Southeast Asian archipelago in 2019.
But Indonesians continue to favor their vehicles, especially motorcycles and scooters.
The “Train to the Apocalypse” costs about $5.25 a ticket and will only run until the end of the week.
The organizers have pledged that the 20-minute journey will not disturb regular LRT skytrain passengers. But even without participating, they can see part of the show for free.