The sensation of traveling on cheap W. Java trains<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Willing to experience the worst means of
\ntransportation in the city? Just take trains plying short
\ndistances to neighborhood areas in West Java.<\/p>\n
Poor service in that segment of the transportation business is
\nrampant -- filthy carriages, odoriferous toilets, lack of
\nelectricity, broken seats and schedule unpunctuality.<\/p>\n
But that low-cost transportation is the only alternative for
\nthose who have limited budgets.<\/p>\n
For instance, one needs only Rp 900 (10 US cents) for a
\njourney as far as Rangkasbitung, about 130 kilometers west from
\nhere, and Bogor, about 60 kilometers south of here; and only Rp
\n600 for a train ticket to Tangerang, about 20 kilometers west of
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Compared with bus transportation, one would pay thousands of
\nrupiah for the same routes.<\/p>\n
However, commuters receive poor treatment during the journey
\nas the consequence for being poor and having to take the train.<\/p>\n
Last week, for instance, hundreds of the Jakarta-Rangkasbitung
\ntrain passengers were stuck inside the carriages for about half
\nan hour in the middle of a grass field sparsely populated with
\nshanties. The train had only traveled about one kilometer from
\nthe Kota railway station.<\/p>\n
"It's something usual," said senior passenger Sawilaningsih,
\nin an effort to comfort herself and others.<\/p>\n
"The delay is to make way for other trains to pass," added the
\n63-year-old regular passenger while commenting on the common
\noccurrence on the single railway track.<\/p>\n
But she later admitted that usually it did not wait such a
\nlong time.<\/p>\n
The passengers started to breathe happily when the train
\nstarted to move again. But not for long because the train was
\nmoving backward toward the station!<\/p>\n
That was it, passengers would wait for another half hour
\nbefore the diesel-operated train really started the journey.<\/p>\n
Responding to a commuter's question, a ticket controller said
\nthat the parking area at Kota railway station should have been
\nused by another locomotive and the Jakarta-Rangkasbitung train
\nwould step aside "for a while".<\/p>\n
While waiting, the passengers also had to endure the
\nunbearable heat inside the carriages due to broken fans and
\ncrowded passengers.<\/p>\n
One can experience another experience by taking a night trip
\nand witness light supplied from candles brought by vendors who
\npast them in used plastic cups of mineral water.<\/p>\n
Such poor conditions are not experienced only on the Jakarta-
\nRangkasbitung train but also on others, like trains plying the
\nroute of Jakarta-Bekasi, about 40 kilometers east of here, and
\nthe Jakarta-Tangerang train, in which almost all of the neon
\nlamps were broken.<\/p>\n
But people do not see any efforts from the state-owned railway
\ncompany PT Kereta Api Indonesia to repair them.<\/p>\n
"The darkness is a favorite situation for pickpockets. I once
\nlost my wallet during a night trip," said Asep, a resident of
\nKranji area, Bekasi.<\/p>\n
Pickpockets and robbers are also on the list of experiences
\npassengers can suffer on the trains. And unfortunately, those are
\nbecoming something usual for passengers.<\/p>\n
Sometimes crimes occur during midday, like what happened on
\nthe Jakarta-Rangkasbitung train on Saturday.<\/p>\n
A man, wearing neat clothes, grabbed a box with a compact disc
\nrack inside and easily jumped from the train, having just
\ndeparted Kota station and still moving slowly. The man easily
\nfled through broken iron fences at the sides of the railway.<\/p>\n
"Usually the criminals make use of the train's slow movement
\nso they can flee easily without being chased. I have witnessed
\nsuch incidents many times," said Suherman, who claimed to have
\nescaped from bad fortune on three occasions.<\/p>\n
Yet, people continue to take such trains and are unwilling to
\ntake alternative means of transportation like buses.<\/p>\n
"Trains are the simplest and cheapest means of transportation.
\nIf I took the bus I should change vehicles several times from
\nTanah Abang (Central Jakarta) where I work, to my house," said
\nEnday Supriatna, a fruit seller from Tangerang. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-sensation-of-traveling-on-cheap-w-java-trains-1447893297",
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