House Commission V Highlights Train Accident in Bekasi, Urges Immediate Fixes for Two Key Issues
Chairman of the DPR RI Commission V, Lasarus, has highlighted the train accident at Bekasi Timur Station. He assessed that there are two issues related to Indonesia’s railway problems that must be addressed immediately.
Initially, Lasarus stated that the positioning of carriages had no connection to the incident involving the KA Argo Bromo Anggrek and KRL Commuter Line at Bekasi Timur Station. He said the main problem is the arrangement of level crossings.
“If yesterday’s accident had nothing to do with the arrangement of carriages. Whether women are placed in the middle, in front, in the back, or men in the back, safety is for everyone. That’s not the issue; the issue is the management of the trains. Regarding level crossings, that’s the main root cause of the accident. So, fix all those crossings first,” Lasarus told reporters on Thursday (30/4/2026).
He explained that the next issue concerns signalling. Lasarus assessed that the railway signalling also needs to be fixed. The problems with level crossings and signalling are homework related to train transportation safety that must be quickly improved.
“Then, regarding signalling, if the signalling were good, when the accident happened, and the signal could be captured by all trains on the same track, all trains would stop and it wouldn’t happen. These two things must be fixed. Train management includes the management of level crossings and the management of signalling,” he said.
Lasarus conveyed that current train users have exceeded capacity. According to him, further development is needed.
“Then also the urgent need for the development of railway construction in Indonesia. Because the carrying capacity of trains in Indonesia, the public’s demand to use trains has exceeded the existing train capacity. The government must focus on this railway development,” he stated.
He said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for handling train accidents must also be clear. A comprehensive evaluation is needed following the accident.
“Regarding SOP as well, it must be clear; when this accident occurs, what SOP must be immediately carried out, so that yesterday’s incident does not repeat. So the evaluation must be comprehensive,” said Lasarus.
According to Lasarus, there should be no obstacles at railway crossings. Because trains cannot brake suddenly and require long preparation before stopping.
He then conveyed that railway issues remain very complex. There are various overlapping regulations between local and central governments, from crossing infrastructure to level crossing improvements.
“In Indonesia, there are thousands of unguarded crossings, even many that are called illegal crossings. In my opinion, the railway problem is still very complex. There is local authority, for example, if there’s a flyover, then we have to build an underpass, free up land, all sorts, relocate residents there, that’s the local government’s authority,” he explained.
He suggested that the improvement of level railway crossings be taken over by the central government so there is no passing the buck.
“My suggestion going forward is, since the central government builds the railways, just take over the level crossing issues by the central government. For regions that cannot manage their areas to hand over the level crossing areas that will occur because the railway tracks are built, just don’t build them first rather than building them causing danger,” he said.
“Let the centre handle it, let the authority be clear, no passing the buck. Anyway, the current regulations, I see that infrastructure development funds in the regions are all taken over by the centre, so just put everything there,” he continued.
Train Accident at Bekasi Timur
The train accident at Bekasi Timur began when a Green SM taxi was stopped in the middle of the railway tracks not far from Bekasi Timur Station on Monday (27/4) night. The taxi was then hit by a KRL speeding from Cikarang towards Jakarta.
The KRL involved in the accident with the taxi then stopped in the middle of the tracks. Residents then gathered to help evacuate the taxi.
On the other hand, a KRL heading to Cikarang was stopped longer at Bekasi Timur Station due to the incident between the KRL heading to Jakarta and the Green SM taxi. It was this KRL stopped at Bekasi Timur Station that was then hit by the KA Argo Bromo Anggrek speeding from Jakarta.
On Tuesday (28/4), KAI stated that there were 15 people who died as victims. Now, the number of fatalities has increased to 16 people.