Commuter trains, why not?<\/p>\n
Provisional results of the investigation into the June 30
\ntrain crash in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, indicates that human
\nerror was behind the fatal wreck that claimed four lives.<\/p>\n
A team set up by Minister of Communications Hatta Radjasa
\nprovisionally concluded that the driver of the commuter train,
\nwhich rammed a parked Pakuan Express train, missed stopping at a
\nred light.<\/p>\n
If that's the case, then this is obvious evidence that "human
\nerror" is the cause of most train accidents in this country.<\/p>\n
Records from state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia
\n(KAI) in 2004 indicated that 37 crashes -- 30 between trains and
\nvehicles at railway crossings, and seven train vs train
\ncollisions -- were the result of "human error."<\/p>\n
For such an old and large company human error must surely mean
\nmismanagement. Mismanagement starts in the smaller things such as
\na lack of punctuality, cleanliness, financial accountability, and
\nmost importantly, passenger safety.<\/p>\n
There has never been any survey undertaken to examine in
\ndetail the budgets and annual deficits -- to the tune of billions
\nof rupiah -- suffered by PT KAI, and whether this is a part of a
\npattern of mismanagement.<\/p>\n
We have all seen how passengers have to cram themselves into
\ncarriages of the commuter trains during morning or afternoon peak
\nhours, while others have to cling to the doors or windows, or
\neven sit on the roof, risking life and limb.<\/p>\n
PT KAI Greater Jakarta division once revealed that poor
\nmaintenance caused by inefficiency of maintenance crews was their
\nonly major problem internally. Crews were only able to service
\ntwo carriages every five months, instead of three or four as
\nrequired, for no clear reason. This led to the fact that one-
\nthird of around 400 cars had been taken off the tracks, mostly
\nbecause of old age and lack of maintenance.<\/p>\n
With continuous traffic gridlock on the streets of the
\ncapital, commuter trains could actually become a solution to the
\ncity's transportation needs.<\/p>\n
Any mass rapid transportation system (MRT) the administration
\nplans to build at some stage in the future would do well to
\nexpand on the city's existing railway network.<\/p>\n
PT KAI's Greater Jakarta division operates at least 150
\ncarriages that are capable of carrying 450,000 passengers a day,
\nmeaning that -- if managed properly -- commuter trains could
\nfunction as one part of the MRT service.<\/p>\n
However, to make that happen, political will must exist to
\nchange the Jakarta administration's attitude toward train
\nservices.<\/p>\n
The administration has shown too much bias towards ground
\ntransportation and to accommodating the needs of private
\nmotorists, with not nearly enough attention being paid to users
\nof public transportation.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of kilometers of urban toll roads have been built in
\nJakarta over the last two decades. Recently, the administration
\ndecided to build seven more new turnpikes, totaling 85.3
\nkilometers, instead of giving priority to the establishment of an
\nMRT system.<\/p>\n
The new toll roads effectively only accommodate car owners,
\nnow totaling at least 1.5 million people, while almost 3 million
\nmotorcyclists have to use other non-toll roads everyday. These
\nfigures show that millions of people need public transport to and
\nfrom their work place everyday.<\/p>\n
By contrast, how much new additional railway track has been
\nconstructed?<\/p>\n
It is acknowledged that investment represents a serious hurdle
\nin railway services. Constructing one kilometer of railway track
\ncosts at least Rp 5 billion (US$513,000), while the cost of
\npurchasing and operating a train carriage can reach more than Rp
\n70 billion. Therefore, huge investment is required to build and
\noperate a commuter train service, and this seems to have been too
\nexpensive for the private sector to handle without government
\nsubsidies.<\/p>\n
Once again, political will must exist to make the city
\nadministration make proper use of the commuter train network to
\nserve millions of passengers.<\/p>\n
It's time for the central government -- in cooperation with
\nthe Jakarta administration -- to become involved in the
\nmanagement of PT KAI in general, and in Greater Jakarta division
\nin particular, to make the existing commuter train network a part
\nof MRT system.<\/p>\n
We should start to exploit the potential of commuter trains to
\nprovide inexpensive, efficient, fast and comfortable means of
\npublic transportation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/commuter-trains-why-not-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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