Executive train derails at Gambir station, hundreds stranded<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A Taksaka I executive class train derailed at Gambir railway
\nstation here early on Tuesday, causing the departure of four
\nother trains to be postponed and leaving hundreds of passengers
\nstranded.<\/p>\n
The Taksaka I train, serving the Yogyakarta-Jakarta route,
\nderailed at about 5 a.m. Within two hours, however, the line had
\nbeen cleared.<\/p>\n
But several Jakarta commuter trains had to stop at Manggarai
\nrailway station or were rerouted due to the accident.<\/p>\n
An official at the station told The Jakarta Post that the
\nTaksaka I train derailed when it was about to cross from one
\ntrack to another.<\/p>\n
\"The operative responsible opened the points too soon,\" said
\nthe official, who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, several passengers at the station commented that
\nthe incident was \"old hat\".<\/p>\n
\"We have all experienced such inconveniences before, haven't
\nwe? PT KAI (state-owned railway company) never serves us properly
\nas passengers,\" Ali told the Post.<\/p>\n
Separately, Gatot Wibowo, the company's spokesman, rejected
\nthe possibility that frequent derailments across the country were
\ncaused by poor maintenance.<\/p>\n
He said they were mostly the result of human error or
\nvandalism against trains or the tracks.<\/p>\n
\"But, yes, it is true that sometimes derailments happen
\nbecause the wheels are damaged,\" he said.<\/p>\n
PT KAI, according to Gatot, requires continuous checking of
\ntrains and tracks, and railroad officials examine them in stages,
\nincluding daily up to annual checks.<\/p>\n
However, Gatot admitted that PT KAI sometimes delayed checks
\nif \"we don't have sufficient locomotives\".<\/p>\n
Currently PT KAI owns 358 locomotives, 20 of which are under
\nrepair. The locomotives have to serve hundreds of routes around
\nthe country every day.<\/p>\n
PT KAI has an income of some Rp 600 billion each year, 60
\npercent of which is used for train and track maintenance.<\/p>\n
Apparently, this money is not sufficient to cover maintenance.
\nTherefore, to provide spare parts for the trains, PT KAI has to
\ncannibalize them from idle rolling stock.<\/p>\n
\"That's the way out (for providing spare parts). It's not
\nsomething awful. Bus operators do it too,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/executive-train-derails-at-gambir-station-hundreds-stranded-1447893297",
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