Gumarang train derails

Gumarang train derails

BANDUNG (JP): The executive-class Gumarang train plying the
Surabaya-Jakarta route derailed at the Cikampek railway station
in West Java, at about 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

The derailment, about 70 kilometers from Jakarta, caused a
two-hour delay of trains from Central and East Java to Jakarta.
Spokesman for PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) of the Operational
Area II Akhmad Sujadi said there were no fatalities. "It was the
coach with the power generator that derailed. The derailed coach
was then left in Cikampek, while the eight other coaches with 350
passengers proceeded to Jakarta at 7:30 a.m. but without
electricity."

He added that three of five tracks at the Cikampek railway
station could not be used for several hours due to the
derailment. "The three tracks are used by trains from Central and
East Java.

Several trains from Jakarta to Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya
and Bandung arrived late on Wednesday morning.

The Argo Gede train arrived in Bandung almost one hour behind
schedule.

Wednesday's derailment was the seventh such incident in
Cikampek this year. Three took place on the Cikampek-Jakarta
track, the other three were on the Cikampek-Bandung track,"
Akhmad said.

Akhmad said he had yet to be informed on the cause of the
incident.

According to Akhmad, the Cikampek-Bandung route was vulnerable
to landslides as the soil beneath the railroad sleepers is
unstable. (25/sur)