Motor vehicles were still bustling at the level crossing on Jalan\nAmpera in East Bekasi on Tuesday afternoon (28\/4\/2026). Two-wheeled\nmotorcycles, box trucks, and even pedestrians jostled on that narrow\nstrip of road.<\/p>\n
A long-distance train passed through, with only one side\u2019s\ndilapidated bamboo portal lowered. On the other side, there was no\nbarrier between the crowded vehicles and the passing train.<\/p>\n
Only the shouts of the guards stopped the drivers. \u201cWatch out, back\nup,\u201d the gate guards yelled. As the train passed, the flow of vehicles\nresumed, surging across the tracks towards the opposite side from Jalan\nIr H Juanda to Durenjaya and vice versa.<\/p>\n
There were hardly any signs that, at that location on Monday night,\nan incident had occurred that ultimately led to the deaths of more than\na dozen female passengers on the KRL commuter line at East Bekasi\nStation, as their carriages were rammed by a long-distance train from\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Around 8:50 PM that night, a Green MS taxi stopped in the middle of\nthe crossing. The car was hit by the KRL coming from Cikarang towards\nJakarta. The pile-up of vehicles appeared crumpled about 50 metres from\nthe level crossing towards the station.<\/p>\n
That collision caused the KRL from Jakarta at Bekasi Biru Station to\nbe unable to proceed and was ultimately rear-ended by a long-distance\ntrain from behind. The two rear carriages were pierced by the\nlong-distance train, passengers were crushed, and 14 died.<\/p>\n
The level crossing on Jalan Ampera then became the focus of\nattention. Why has it been allowed to continue like this, even though\nthe location is considered dangerous?<\/p>\n
Even after the incident on Monday night, the crossing still relied on\nmanual guarding. There were no warning signal sounds when a train was\nabout to pass. Only two guards on each side held back the public.<\/p>\n
One of the guards explained that they took turns guarding for 24\nhours. This was because not only the KRL, which stops operating around\n1:00 AM, passed through. Long-distance trains passed without\nstopping.<\/p>\n
One person could guard for several hours before being replaced by the\nnext guard. \u201cHere, there\u2019s always someone on duty, 24 hours. It\u2019s never\nempty; there\u2019s always someone standing by,\u201d he said at the location on\nTuesday (28\/4\/2026).<\/p>\n
He explained that the shift scheduling was flexible. In the morning,\nguarding usually started from 5:00-7:00 AM WIB, then continued by\nanother guard until midday. After that, the next guard took over until\nevening and night.<\/p>\n
The guard claimed that this system was a form of community self-help\nto maintain safety at the crossing. \u201cWe just take turns, from morning,\nmidday, to night. If someone can\u2019t make it, just call, and they\u2019ll be\nreplaced,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/profits-and-thuggery-allegations-at-the-ampera-level-crossing-in-east-bekasi-1777377150", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }