JP\/1\/RAILWAY.@05<\/p>\n
The state-owned Perumka railway company celebrates its
\nanniversary on Sept. 28. On that fateful day in 1945, control of
\nthe service was wrested from the Japanese run Tedsudo Kyoku by
\nthe company's young Indonesian employees.<\/p>\n
The action was precipitated by Indonesia's declaration of
\nindependence, which inspired the youths who worked for the
\ncompany to stage a coordinated action all over the country to
\nseize the reins of the company.<\/p>\n
In conjunction with the company's 49th anniversary of the
\ntakeover, Jakarta Post reporters, Rita A. Widiadana, Petty
\nPrihartini and photographer Rully Kesuma prepared four stories on
\nthe railway company, including its history and current situation.
\nThey also interviewed Perumka's president to look at the
\ncompany's achievements and their designs to face the challenges
\nof the future. The following story by Rita A. Widiadana takes us
\nback to the old times. The other three stories appear on Page 2.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Slow but never sure. This was the reality of
\nIndonesia's railway in the old days.<\/p>\n
"If we took the train, we were never certain when we would
\narrive at any destination," Mrs. Sujatin Soepeno, an 82-year old
\ngrandmother, recollected about the state of the railway 45 years
\nago.<\/p>\n
It took two weeks to travel from Bandung, West Java, to
\nYogyakarta, compared to the present executive train which takes
\neight hours to cover the same route. The train was called the
\nKereta Api Express, but it was popularly known as the sepur balap
\nor racing train. The word sepur originates from the Dutch word
\nspoorweg, or railway, while balap is derived from Javanese and
\nmeans sprint or race.<\/p>\n
"The Kereta Api Express was not a fast train, though. The
\ntrain moved as slow as a buffalo walking along the rice field's
\npaths. That's why we called the train sepur balap, because it had
\nto race against the buffalo," the grandmother laughed.<\/p>\n
That was in l947 when the national railway company, Djawatan
\nKereta Api (DKARI), had just taken over the rails from Japan.
\nIndonesia was still going through its period of transition.<\/p>\n
Margono, 70, a retired employee of the railway company,
\nrecalled that, "Taking the train was a risky business. At any
\ntime passengers could be attacked by Dutch troops. When that
\nhappened, the train had to stop or return to its point of
\ndeparture."<\/p>\n
The 73 year-old Nyoman Widiada, a cattle and farm equipment
\nexporter in Bali, shared his experience of traveling by train in
\nthe l950s. It was a painful undertaking just to ship the
\nlivestock abroad, he recalled.<\/p>\n
"I had to share my seat with the cattle during our journey
\nfrom Banyuwangi to Tanjung Perak Harbor in Surabaya, East Java.
\nYou can imagine the smell in that dark cattle car," he smiled.<\/p>\n
During that period, DKARI had old-fashioned steam engines,
\nlike the IB locomotive produced by the British firm Fox Walker &
\nCo, and the ID + DD52 locomotive. Both engines could travel
\nbetween 40 km and 60 km per hour, but could only pull two or
\nthree coaches at a time.<\/p>\n
"Never wear white clothes when traveling by train, they will
\nturn gray from the smoke from the steam engine," was the advise
\nof a railway official to his customers.<\/p>\n
Although railways were introduced in Indonesia in l868, it was
\nnot until the early 1940s that Indonesian citizens had the
\nopportunity to travel by train. Previously, they only served the
\nDutch colonial government and private Dutch and Chinese
\nplantation companies.<\/p>\n
Besides the slow intercity trains, Jakarta also had its own
\ntransportation system.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's initial mass transportation system were its trams.
\nThey first appeared in l925 and were operated by Bataviache
\nVerkeers Maatschppij. The trams were produced by Lin Kota and ran
\nbetween Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta and Jatinegara in East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Alex, 60, reminisced about taking the city's first mode of
\nmass transportation. "It was really fun although the train took
\ntwo hours to reach Kota from Tanah Abang. Cars and buses were
\nvery rare," he pointed out.<\/p>\n
Jakarta was home to only 623,000 people in l945 compared to
\ntoday's overwhelming nine million.<\/p>\n
Commuters, Alex said, came mostly from low-income groups such
\nas laborers and traders as well as students. Many of whom, like
\ntoday, refused to pay for their tickets. The train conductors,
\nhowever, would smile and let them continue their journey in the
\ncrowded coaches.<\/p>\n
"It was taboo for rich people to take the tram. It would hurt
\ntheir status in society," he added.<\/p>\n
In l957 the city administration replaced the trams with buses
\noperated by the state transportation company PPD.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp1railway05-1447893297",
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