PT KAI letting commuters down<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakartans must try to forget the concept of commuter trains as a
\ncomfortable and safe means of transportation as the state-owned
\nrailway company PT KAI fails to provide a sufficient supply of
\ntrains to meet the massive demand, mostly due to poor management.<\/p>\n
Every day, especially during rush hour, thousands of
\npassengers squeeze into the trains with many others ignoring
\nsafety by sitting on its roof.<\/p>\n
\"The number of trains is very limited so we fall severely
\nshort of the high demand from the public,\" said Rachmadi, head of
\nthe PT KAI Greater Jakarta division, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Rachmadi admitted that many trains could not operate because
\nof damage, and that the maintenance and repair crews were
\ninefficient and overstretched.<\/p>\n
He said PT KAI had 352 passenger coaches of which only 228
\nwere fit for operation, while the rest were undergoing repairs at
\nits service centers in Bukit Duri and Balai Yasa Manggarai, both
\nin South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Even, some of those operating train cars have passed their
\nexpiry dates, but we cannot even manage to do the regular
\nmaintenance checks required,\" admitted Rachmadi.<\/p>\n
He passed the blame over to the service center staff for
\ncontributing to the lack of coaches available.<\/p>\n
Rachmadi said the company's repair shops should be able to
\nrepair three or four trains in five months, but right now, they
\nwere only managing about two in that time frame.<\/p>\n
He admitted that passenger demand -- over 450,000 per day --
\nrequired at least 260 operating coaches in Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PT KAI spokesman Zainal Abidin revealed that many
\nengine cars were depreciating much faster than they should due to
\noverloading of passengers and aging train cars.<\/p>\n
\"Each train should be carrying a maximum of six passengers per
\nsquare meter but right they are at about 12 per square meter,\"
\nsaid Zainal.<\/p>\n
Besides, Zainal said, most carriages here were in a bad way.<\/p>\n
Among the damaged coaches, 20 are over two decades years old.
\nAmazingly, the 72 coaches donated to PT KAI by the Japanese
\ngovernment in October last year began operating in Japan in 1967,
\nbut had excellent and timely maintenance for all those years.
\nThey are expected to be able to operate here for at least another
\n10 years, that is, if they are similarly maintained by their new
\nowners.<\/p>\n
Amid mounting public outcry for better trains, Rachmadi
\nrevealed that his company hoped to be up to 244 operable coaches
\nby February 2003.<\/p>\n
Separately, Hendrowijono, head of the Train Lovers Society
\nattributed the government-run railway company's poor performance
\nto a total absence of checks and balances from any independent
\norganization.<\/p>\n
\"PT KAI alone, controls everything to do with the trains
\nincluding operation, maintenance, monitoring and safety approval
\nfor train cars, which creates opportunities for corruption and
\nconflicts of interest, leading to total inefficiency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The relatively tiny amount of money allocated for maintenance
\naccelerated train depreciation and, in turn, worsened services
\nfor and endangered passenger lives, he said.<\/p>\n
Citing an international convention, Hendrowijono said, the
\nfirm should allocate at least 5 percent per year for maintenance
\nbut PT KAI only allocates about 1 percent (of carriage price) for
\nmaintenance.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pt-kai-letting-commuters-down-1447893297",
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