Dozen injured in train collision in Bekasi

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)