Illegal crossings: Who is responsible?
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Neither local residents nor state railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) appear willing to bear the responsibility for accidents that take place at the many unauthorized railway crossings around the city.
Due to their lack of safety awareness, residents living in the vicinity of railway lines frequently open gaps in the fences that have been erected to separate the tracks from the surrounding densely populated neighborhoods, and prevent people from crossing the tracks.
In an attempt to make the uneven surfaces around the unauthorized crossings flat so that motorbikes can pass over them, residents even fill in the gaps between the tracks with soil or cement.
In order to ensure the safety of passers-by, informal guards, known locally as "polisi cepek," watch for approaching trains and warn motorists and pedestrians when to stop.
Following an incident at Duri Pulo in Central Jakarta last week that killed a five-year-old child and resulted in his mother's left leg being amputated, no one appeared willing to take the responsibility.
Zainal Abidin, spokesman for PT KAI's Greater Jakarta division, said the company was not responsible for the accident, adding that such unauthorized crossings were illegal.
"We have put up fences along the railway tracks, but since most of them are close to residential areas, residents make gaps in the fences at certain places so that they can cross to the other side of the neighborhood without having to take a longer route," he told The Jakarta Post.
Zainal said there were at least 150 unauthorized crossings across the city.
He added that if PT. KAI had enough money, it would have paid some money to the child's family as a token of sympathy. However, he said, it was state insurance firm PT. Jasa Raharja that was ultimately responsible for compensating the family.
However, residents should not bear all the blame for such accidents as it transpires that PT KAI has frequently given the green light for them to break the fences and establish semi- permanent crossings for pedestrians and motorists.
Mirsyad, an informal guard operating at an unauthorized railway crossing in Kayumanis subdistrict, East Jakarta, recalled that early in the 1990s local residents had asked permission from PT KAI to open up gaps in some fences, especially at busy road intersections, after the company had erected the fences along the railway tracks.
"PT. KAI gave us permission, but never assigned guards to watch over the crossings. So, I decided to take up the job of unofficial guard," he told the Post.
Mirsyad, who works from 11 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., said that thousands of motorists and pedestrians used his crossing every day.
"I have to always be on the lookout for approaching trains. Moreover, electric trains are quieter than the diesel ones," he said, all the time turning his head to the left and right watching for trains. "If a train is approaching, I blow my whistle to alert motorists."
Mirsyad said that although not all motorists gave him a tip, he could still earn some Rp 30,000 (about US$3.3) a day.