DPR Commission V: Had Gapeka Been Observed, the Fatal Accident at Bekasi Timur Would Not Have Occurred

Jakarta — Chair of Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Lasarus, said that the fatal railway accident at Bekasi Timur Station should have been avoidable if the Gapeka timetable were implemented strictly. He made the remarks during a Working Meeting (Raker) with stakeholders at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, 21 May 2026. According to Lasarus, adherence to Gapeka requires close supervision by the regulator, namely the Ministry of Transportation. ‘If Gapeka had been followed properly, that incident might not have occurred,’ Lasarus said. ‘Even a small error on a railway with very short headways is highly risky,’ he added. He also urged PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) to undertake tighter internal reforms so that similar accidents do not recur. He stated that oversight is not only the responsibility of the government as regulator but also of the railway operator to ensure all operational procedures are carried out in accordance with the rules. ‘There must also be very stringent efforts from within the operator to prevent this from recurring,’ Lasarus said. Previously, the fatal accident occurred in the precincts of Bekasi Timur Station on 27 April 2026, involving a KRL Commuter Line and the Argo Bromo Anggrek train. The incident left 124 casualties, including 16 deaths.