Dozen injured in train collision in Bekasi

JAKARTA (JP): An express train from Gambir station, Central Jakarta, bound for Cirebon collided with a locomotive on Thursday morning, some 40 meters away from Tambun railway station in Bekasi.

No fatalities were reported but dozens of passengers on the Cirebon Express suffered minor injuries, witnesses and executives of state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia said.

Local railway officials said the locomotive, which was about to switch to another track, had been asked to remain in its position in order to allow the speeding train to pass.

"But I don't know why the accident still took place," Tambun railway official Ruslan Abdul Gani was quoted as saying by Antara.

The locomotive engineer Juarno admitted that he and his colleague, Darsono, were about to change the direction of the locomotive when they saw the express train coming toward them.

He said therefore the collision could not be avoided.

The accident forced all the Cirebon-bound passengers, who left Gambir at 7 a.m., to cancel their trip. The commuters were transported back to Jakarta on another train from Tambun.

The collision caused the locomotive and the front coach of the Cirebon Express to derail.

The express train's eight other coaches remained on the rails.

Eddy Sasongko, head of the railway company's Jakarta operational division, lamented the accident and said that his office are still investigating the cause of the accident.

The accident in Tambun was expected to disturb the schedule of the many trains which pass through the station, particularly since the coaches were still blocking the tracks. (asa/01)