Minister of PPPA Proposes Dedicated Women's Train Carriage in the Middle; AHY's Response

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), responded to the proposal from the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) regarding the evaluation of the placement of dedicated women’s carriages on KRL trains, following the collision incident between the Argo Bromo train and the Commuter Line (KRL) at Bekasi Timur Station.

In response, AHY emphasised that the incident is a serious concern for the government, particularly because the dedicated women’s carriage was in the most affected position.

“Yes, it means… this has never happened before. There was a collision where the KRL was hit from behind by a long-distance train. And coincidentally, the rearmost carriage was the dedicated women’s carriage. So there is definitely concern about why the most vulnerable group, for whom we have specially provided the carriage all this time, ended up facing the highest risk,” AHY told reporters at Bekasi City Hospital, West Java, on Tuesday (28/4/2026).

He assured that the government would conduct a comprehensive evaluation, but stressed that safety aspects must be the top priority without differentiating by gender.

“This is also something we will continue to evaluate, but clearly, men and women are the same; no one should become a victim in any incident,” he said.

Furthermore, AHY emphasised that the government’s focus is not on separating male and female passengers, but on ensuring that the public transport system is truly safe.

“So what we are focusing on is not women versus men, but how to make the train transport system and other public transport systems safe and secure. To provide a sense of safety, comfort, and safety first—not just as a slogan, but truly implemented well. We also urge and want to ensure that there are no more accidents,” he explained.

He also confirmed that a thorough investigation would be conducted to uncover the exact cause of the accident.

“This will be investigated thoroughly. KNKT has agreed to conduct a thorough investigation,” AHY stated.

Previously, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Arifah Fauzi proposed that the dedicated women’s carriage on KRL trains be moved to the middle of the train consist, rather than at the end.

The proposal arose after the train accident tragedy at Bekasi Timur, which resulted in all victims coming from the women’s carriage. Arifah assessed that the placement needs to be reviewed to improve the safety of female passengers.

“But with this incident, we propose that if possible, the women’s carriage be placed in the middle,” Arifah said after visiting victims at Bekasi City Hospital.

She explained that the current placement of women’s carriages at the front or rear is intended to avoid overcrowding. However, moving forward, she encouraged placing male or mixed carriages at the ends.

“So men at the ends, front and back, so women in the middle,” she said.

It is known that the accident occurred when the Argo Bromo train collided with the rear of the KRL that was stopped at Bekasi Timur Station. Head of Basarnas, M Syafii, stated that all evacuated victims were women.

“100% of those we evacuated are women,” he said.

The evacuation process itself was completed on Tuesday morning around 08:00 WIB, with all involved SAR teams returning to their respective units after the operation was declared complete.