Facts on the Train Accident at Bekasi Timur Station

A fatal accident involving a Commuter Line train (KRL) and the Argo Bromo Anggrek train occurred at Bekasi Timur Station on Monday (27/4). According to official statements from the Ministry of Transportation, the incident began when a KRL train on the Bekasi-Cikarang route was struck by a Green SM taxi at the JPL 85 level crossing in the Bulak Kapal area. As a result, the KRL train had to be evacuated and designated as an Extraordinary Journey (PLB) with code 5181, as it stopped and operated outside its regular schedule. The impact of the event led officers to stop another KRL train with code PLB 5568 heading to Cikarang at the Bekasi Timur Station platform. However, the Argo Bromo Anggrek train (KA 4) on the Jakarta-Surabaya route did not have time to stop fully, resulting in a collision with the stationary PLB 5568 train. CNNIndonesia.com has compiled the facts of this incident as follows: 15 people died. Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) stated that the number of fatalities in the train accident reached 15 people as of Tuesday (28/4) afternoon. “The update as of 1 p.m. today shows 15 people have died and 88 are still being treated. This includes three who were initially trapped and have been evacuated and are still under hospital care,” said AHY at Bekasi Timur Station. The injured victims have received treatment at several hospitals, including Bekasi City Hospital, RS Bella Bekasi, RS Primaya, RS Mitra Plumbon Cibitung, RS Bakti Kartini, RS Siloam Bekasi Timur, RS Hermina, as well as RS Mitra Keluarga Bekasi Timur and Barat. Adult female victims. Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Kabasarnas) Marshal Madya Muhammad Syafii stated that all fatalities from the collision between the long-distance Argo Bromo train and the KRL were adult women. “I saw there were none (child victims), all of them fall into the adult [women] category,” said Syafii. He mentioned that almost all the fatalities were in the KRL carriages, trapped by the locomotive of the Argo Bromo Anggrek train. “The victims we evacuated, including those already deceased, were almost all trapped,” he said. Taxi driver examined. Police have revealed the fate of the Green SM online electric taxi driver who was struck by the train, leading to the accident between the Argo Bromo Anggrek train and the KRL at Bekasi Timur Station. Head of the Accident Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis Section of the National Police Traffic Corps, Commissioner Sandhi Wiedyanoe, stated that the taxi driver has been secured and is being intensively examined at the Bekasi City Metro Police Resort. “The driver has been secured at the Bekasi City Metro Police Resort for further in-depth investigation by the Traffic Unit Chief,” said Sandhi. Sandhi explained that the incident began due to an electrical short circuit in the electric online taxi vehicle at the ungated level crossing. He explained that the short-circuited electric vehicle was then struck by the KRL from the Cikarang to Jakarta direction. As a result of the incident, he said, it disrupted the travel process of other trains. “The accident involving the train and the electric vehicle was actually just material damage. However, it caused disruption to other train journeys, with the KRL waiting for the evacuation process,” he said. Sandhi stated that information about the train collision was allegedly not fully communicated to the Argo Bromo Anggrek train. Meanwhile, he said, the Argo Bromo Anggrek train was travelling at high speed of 110 kilometres per hour. “Due to the lack of information and coordination, the collision occurred at Bekasi Timur Station, more precisely, resulting in several fatalities,” he said. Safety standards audit. The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) is re-auditing the operational safety standards of the Green SM electric taxi following the incident. The audit is being conducted after the Directorate General of Land Transportation summoned Green SM management for clarification on Tuesday (28/4), one day after the incident that killed 15 people and injured dozens of passengers. “We have formed a special team to delve into the involvement of Xanh SM taxis, including their permits, administrative completeness, fulfilment of safety standards, and compliance with public transport operational regulations,” said Director General of Land Transportation of Kemenhub Aan Suhanan in an official statement at the Ministry’s Central Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (28/4). Prabowo demands investigation. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed an investigation into the train collision incident at Bekasi Timur Station on Monday (27/4) night. “Then, on that occasion, he (Prabowo), accompanied by the Minister of Transportation and the President Director of PT KAI, had a brief discussion and received a report on last night’s incident, and he ordered several investigative steps to be taken, of course,” said Cabinet Secretary Prasetyo Hadi via voice recording, Tuesday (28/4). In addition, Pras stated that Prabowo also requested several anticipatory measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. Pras mentioned that Prabowo even checked the production year of Indonesia’s trains. “And he also decided that we are asked to handle approximately 1,800 railway crossings that need to be guarded or equipped with something like flyovers to ensure that those intersection or railway crossing paths are safe from potential accidents,” he said.