New business train derails, one hurt at Palmerah station

JAKARTA (JP): A new business train plying the Merak-Jakarta route derailed yesterday at the Palmerah railway station, hospitalizing one man.

The accident which occurred at 1:34 p.m. yesterday forced all trains going through Palmerah station to be stopped.

Witnesses said locomotive No. CC 201107 disconnected from its seven coaches and sped uncontrollably before it struck a locked railway switch and ran into an electrical pole at the station. The train's carriages then slammed into the back of the locomotive.

"The crash produced a deafening sound," Tedja, a witness said. He was on his bicycle when the accident happened.

A passing small sedan was hit by a falling electric pole. The driver suffered only minor injuries.

The coaches, carrying around 50 passengers, also hit the locked railway switch and six of the seven coaches were damaged.

The train had been in trial operation for only three days and Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto was to launch the new train on Nov. 10.

The train was designed to take an hour off the three hour trip from Merak to Kota (downtown) station in West Jakarta.

"A cyclist was hit by a flying sleeper. He is now being treated at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital," police said. He said the cyclist, Mi'in, was a food vendor.

No one could explain how the accident happened. The train driver Siswanto and his assistant Sutardjo refused to comment.

The two men, who are being questioned at the Tanah Abang police subprecinct, talked to each other very slowly, about the accident in the Palmerah railway station office.

Two passengers, Sule and Yunus, said they could not understand why the train went so fast.

"Since the train left Merak at about 11:00 a.m. it seemed to be at full speed. A friend suggested that I use the new train. I paid Rp 10,000 for the Merak-Jakarta ticket," Sule said.

Another passenger, Yunus, who took the train from Rangkas Bitung, also said the train went very fast.

"Some of glasses and thermos bottles in the restaurant carriage broke as the coaches shook terribly. A restaurant attendant asked the train driver to sign a statement saying that the glasses and thermos bottles were broken because of the wiggling coaches. The restaurant attendant said he did not want to be blamed for the damage," Yunus said.

Yunus paid Rp 7,000 for the ticket from Rangkas Bitung.

Yan Mulyana, the Palmerah station head could not be contacted. One of his staff said the material losses were still being calculated. "We need at least three days to repair things. You see most of the tracks are broken," he said.

He said 48 passenger and goods trains stopped by the Palmerah railway station everyday.

There are eight trains plying Jakarta-Merak, 12 plying Jakarta-Cigading, six plying Jakarta-Serpong, 12 Jakarta Rangkas Bitung, two Jakarta-Cilegon and eight Jakarta-Parung Panjang, he said. (sur/jun)