Commuter trains, why not?

Commuter trains, why not?

Provisional results of the investigation into the June 30
train crash in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, indicates that human
error was behind the fatal wreck that claimed four lives.

A team set up by Minister of Communications Hatta Radjasa
provisionally concluded that the driver of the commuter train,
which rammed a parked Pakuan Express train, missed stopping at a
red light.

If that's the case, then this is obvious evidence that "human
error" is the cause of most train accidents in this country.

Records from state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia
(KAI) in 2004 indicated that 37 crashes -- 30 between trains and
vehicles at railway crossings, and seven train vs train
collisions -- were the result of "human error."

For such an old and large company human error must surely mean
mismanagement. Mismanagement starts in the smaller things such as
a lack of punctuality, cleanliness, financial accountability, and
most importantly, passenger safety.

There has never been any survey undertaken to examine in
detail the budgets and annual deficits -- to the tune of billions
of rupiah -- suffered by PT KAI, and whether this is a part of a
pattern of mismanagement.

We have all seen how passengers have to cram themselves into
carriages of the commuter trains during morning or afternoon peak
hours, while others have to cling to the doors or windows, or
even sit on the roof, risking life and limb.

PT KAI Greater Jakarta division once revealed that poor
maintenance caused by inefficiency of maintenance crews was their
only major problem internally. Crews were only able to service
two carriages every five months, instead of three or four as
required, for no clear reason. This led to the fact that one-
third of around 400 cars had been taken off the tracks, mostly
because of old age and lack of maintenance.

With continuous traffic gridlock on the streets of the
capital, commuter trains could actually become a solution to the
city's transportation needs.

Any mass rapid transportation system (MRT) the administration
plans to build at some stage in the future would do well to
expand on the city's existing railway network.

PT KAI's Greater Jakarta division operates at least 150
carriages that are capable of carrying 450,000 passengers a day,
meaning that -- if managed properly -- commuter trains could
function as one part of the MRT service.

However, to make that happen, political will must exist to
change the Jakarta administration's attitude toward train
services.

The administration has shown too much bias towards ground
transportation and to accommodating the needs of private
motorists, with not nearly enough attention being paid to users
of public transportation.

Hundreds of kilometers of urban toll roads have been built in
Jakarta over the last two decades. Recently, the administration
decided to build seven more new turnpikes, totaling 85.3
kilometers, instead of giving priority to the establishment of an
MRT system.

The new toll roads effectively only accommodate car owners,
now totaling at least 1.5 million people, while almost 3 million
motorcyclists have to use other non-toll roads everyday. These
figures show that millions of people need public transport to and
from their work place everyday.

By contrast, how much new additional railway track has been
constructed?

It is acknowledged that investment represents a serious hurdle
in railway services. Constructing one kilometer of railway track
costs at least Rp 5 billion (US$513,000), while the cost of
purchasing and operating a train carriage can reach more than Rp
70 billion. Therefore, huge investment is required to build and
operate a commuter train service, and this seems to have been too
expensive for the private sector to handle without government
subsidies.

Once again, political will must exist to make the city
administration make proper use of the commuter train network to
serve millions of passengers.

It's time for the central government -- in cooperation with
the Jakarta administration -- to become involved in the
management of PT KAI in general, and in Greater Jakarta division
in particular, to make the existing commuter train network a part
of MRT system.

We should start to exploit the potential of commuter trains to
provide inexpensive, efficient, fast and comfortable means of
public transportation.