Better safety for

Better safety for
Jakarta's trains

The state-owned railway company is replacing the hand-operated
signal points at major railway stations in the greater Jakarta
area with computerized signal systems in order to improve
operational safety.

Bambang Walujodjati, a spokesman for Perumka, said yesterday
the company is now upgrading the systems at the Jatinegara and
Cipinang stations, both in East Jakarta, as part of the Jakarta,
Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabotabek) railway betterment
project, which began in 1991.

The project, which includes repair of 117 kilometers of tracks
and bridges, a number of railway stations and their communication
systems, costs Rp 140 billion.

Bambang said the upgrading of the switching and traffic
signals is carried out by a joint venture of three foreign
companies and PT Guna Elektro, a Jakarta-based private-sector
firm.

Bambang said the automation of railway signals at the
Cikampek, Gambir and Manggarai railway stations had already been
done and similar replacement work will begin soon at the Bekasi
and Kota railways stations.

Perumka has been using hand-operated signal points since the
Dutch colonial period.

"The new system is more sophisticated and secure compared to
the old one which is operated manually," Bambang said.

Jakarta has recorded several major train accidents in the past
few years, including the 1987 train crash in Bintaro, South
Jakarta, in which 136 people died, and the 1993 in Citayam, West
Java, which killed 23 people.

Following the Citayam accident, the public threw a barrage of
scathing criticism at the government and demanded that incumbent
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto resign, arguing
the minister was responsible for the danger in train operations.
(09)

'The Commodores'
on stage here

The Commodores, a United States-based group popular here in
the 1980s, is scheduled to perform here today to Friday.

William King, Walter Orange and JD Nicholas will appear today
at the Concert Hall 21 of the Ratu Plaza, Jl. Jend. Sudirman,
South Jakarta.

On Thursday they will perform at the News Cafe on Jl. H.R.
Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta and the Friday show is
planned to be held at the Golden Ballroom of the Jakarta Hilton
International Hotel, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta.

The organizers include Buena Production and Rios Enterprise.
(anr)