Semarang's stations have own place in history<\/p>\n
By Tjahjono Rahardjo<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): It was to be the greatest exposition ever held
\nin the Netherlands East Indies, an unabashed celebration of
\ncolonial supremacy.<\/p>\n
And the venue was Semarang.<\/p>\n
As the colonial administrators drew up their plans for the
\nexposition celebrating the centennial of Dutch independence, they
\nhoped the Koloniale Tentoonstelling would draw many visitors and
\nan influx of revenue to the city.<\/p>\n
New hotels and pensions were opened; car rental companies were
\nset up. The city was galvanized into activity for the grand
\nevent.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, by the time the exposition opened on Aug. 20,
\n1914, rumblings of war in Europe, triggered by the assassination
\nof Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, cast a dark
\nshadow on the event.<\/p>\n
Due to the tense political situation the patron of the
\nexposition, governor general W.F. Idenburg, was unable to attend
\nthe opening ceremony. And even though Japan, China, Australia,
\nIndia, French Indochina and the United States were represented by
\ntheir respective pavilions, all of the European countries were
\nnoticeably missing.<\/p>\n
Of the expected million or so visitors, only about 670,000
\nvisited the three-month-long exposition.<\/p>\n
Among those who had been excited about the exposition were
\nthree railway companies, all privately owned, that served
\nSemarang at that time.<\/p>\n
The Nederlandsch-Indies Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS), the
\nSamarang-Joana Stoomtram Maatschappij (SJS) and the Semarang-
\nCheribon Stoomtram Maatschappij (SCS) were expecting huge numbers
\nof visitors to travel to Semarang on their trains. They vied with
\neach other to be able to give the best service, including
\nconstructing new stations.<\/p>\n
As early as 1913 the SJS already had a new iron structure
\nbuilt to replace the wooden station building on the same site at
\nJurnatan that had been in use since 1882. The old station
\ninitially served the four-kilometer-long city tramway the company
\noperated to Semarang's Jomblang district, at the foot of the New
\nCandi hills.<\/p>\n
Here, in the 1920s, a new, modern housing development was
\nbuilt to the design of the famous architect and town planner
\nThomas Karsten. This tramway was later extended to the Bulu area
\nand the harbor. The station also served the SJS line that
\nconnected Semarang with towns along the eastern coast of Central
\nJava such as Kudus, Pati, Rembang and Juana.<\/p>\n
Grand station<\/p>\n
The NIS soon followed suit by building a new station but at a
\ncompletely new location. This grand station, based on a NIS in-
\nhouse design, came into use on June 1, 1914. The old station at
\nTambaksari, which was located near the harbor, was the starting
\npoint of the first railway in the Netherlands East Indies, the
\n25-kilometer Semarang to Tanggung line opened in 1867.<\/p>\n
It was a small, two-storey building with identical wings on
\nboth sides. It was what the Dutch call a kopstation, a typical
\nlayout for end-of-the-line stations. Some examples of similar
\nkopstations are the Jakarta Kota Station and the Den Haag Central
\nStation, which are similar in layout but not in size.
\nUnfortunately, to allow for the extension of the line to the new
\nstation at Tawang, which was located nearer to the city center,
\nthe old Tambaksari Station was pulled down.<\/p>\n
The SCS contributed to the station-building spree with the
\nconstruction of the Semarang West Station at located at Poncol,
\nnear the Prince of Orange Fort. This station was officially
\nopened on Aug. 6, 1914, just in time for the Exposition. It was
\ndesigned by Henri Maclaine-Pont who also designed the Bandung
\nInstitute of Technology (ITB) campus. Formerly, the SCS had a
\nsmall nondescript station building at Pendrikan, southwest of
\nPoncol.<\/p>\n
Pendrikan was never really meant to serve passengers, thus its
\nsmall size. Instead, SCS trains would continue their journeys
\nalong the city tramline and finally stop at the SJS station in
\nJurnatan.<\/p>\n
Of the five railway stations -- Tambaksari, Jurnatan,
\nPendrikan, Tawang and Poncol -- only the latter two are still
\nextant. Jurnatan stopped being used in 1974 and for a short time
\nit became Semarang's bus station. It was eventually dismantled,
\nwith a plan, never realized, to reerect it at Ambarawa Locomotive
\nMuseum. Pendrikan is now a dense kampong.<\/p>\n
Tawang now still serves as Semarang's main passenger station.
\nAll kinds of trains, mainly business and executive class
\npassenger trains, including the pride of the Indonesian railways,
\nthe high-speed Argo trains, stop at the station. However, it is
\nfacing a constant battle against chronic flooding. Hopefully,
\nthe polder system currently being constructed by the municipality
\nwill solve the problem once and for all.<\/p>\n
Poncol is mainly an economy class and cargo station. It is now
\na somewhat plain, dull looking edifice, mainly because its large
\nclock and elegant porcelain tile ornaments have been removed. In
\naddition, part of its formerly open platforms have been walled
\nin, and seen from the outside the station has lost most of its
\nlight and airy quality. The recent addition of a canopy in front
\nof the entrance has not been of much help either.<\/p>\n
Semarang is today the bustling capital of Central Java, known
\nmore as a commercial center than a tourist stop. Instead, its
\nnear neighbor Yogyakarta has become famed for its tourist
\nattractions.<\/p>\n
And it seems highly unlikely that Semarang will have any new
\nstation building projects in the near, and even the not so near,
\nfuture to resemble those of the 1900s. Thus, it would be wise to
\nmaintain those which do remain. After all, they are all well
\ndesigned, soundly constructed edifices in their own right.<\/p>\n
The writer works at the Center for Urban Studies,
\nSoegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang.<\/p>",
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