I would still choose to travel by train, says crash victim

I would still choose to travel by train, says crash victim

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just like any other day, Ida Nurhayati, 35, took the commuter
train to buy fresh fish at Muara Angke fish market in North
Jakarta on Thursday afternoon to sell at Cimanggis village,
Bojong Gede, Bogor regency, the next day.

The difference was that the fish monger took along her husband
Slamet Purwanto, 35, who is a public minivan driver in North
Jakarta and two of their children, Hesti, 10, and Aditia, six.

Slamet took the day off to take his wife to a midwife for a
check up. They left their sons Ferdi, 20, and Deni, 15, at home.

Almost nine-months pregnant with her fifth child, Ida said
that she couldn't believe she was among the victims when the
Bogor-Jakarta train the family rode was hit from behind by a
local suburban train in Rawa Bambu, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.

"I have taken the train from Bojong Gede to Kota station, West
Jakarta, for four years now ... I had never had any bad
experience on board," Ida told The Jakarta Post from her bed at
Siaga Raya Hospital, South Jakarta.

Ida broke her left hand in the accident and her water broke,
forcing the hospital to deliver the baby by caesarean section on
Friday, two weeks before it was due.

The couple named the baby Retno Kartika Dewi.

"We decided on the name a long time ago ... Why should I give
her a name that relates to the traumatic incident?" Slamet
remarked when asked if the name was linked to the accident.

Ida was still in hospital on Sunday, while the newborn baby
was put in an incubator. Slamet and two other children had been
released from the hospital as they only suffered minor injuries.

According to Ida, her husband had actually warned her against
going to Muara Angke because of her advanced pregnancy.

"I could still go, besides, we need a lot of money for the
baby," said Ida who sells fish door-to-door in the neighborhood.

Ida thanked the government for promising to cover all hospital
fees as pledged by Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa.

She said that the accident would not stop her from taking the
train again. She said she would start work soon after being
discharged from the hospital.

"The train is still the best mode of transportation for me,
because it's the fastest and most affordable bridging my
neighborhood and Jakarta. Hopefully there will be no more
accidents," she added.