North coast railway track back to normal

North coast railway track back to normal

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Railway services on the north
coast of Java resumed on Sunday after 10 days of disruption due
to a slumped railway bridge in Comal, Central Java.

Spokesman for the state-run railway company PT Kereta Api
Indonesia (PT KAI) Gatot Wibowo said construction workers had
successfully installed four emergency pillars to support the
bridge.

The bridge has been declared safe. Passenger train services
between Semarang and Tegal and the executive class train service
Sembrani between Surabaya and Jakarta resumed on Sunday.

Gatot said trains first traveled along the bridge at five
kilometers per hour to determine the bridge was safe.

Normally, trains travel along the 100-meter bridge at a speed
of between 60 kph and 70 kph.

"We will keep working to allow the trains to travel around 20
kilometers per hour on the bridge," Gatot said.

Gatot said that despite the fact that the railway traffic on
the north coast line had practically returned to normal, some
trains plying the Surabaya-Jakarta continued to travel the
southern route on Sunday because there were some passengers
destined for Yogyakarta.

He said the trials were initially planned for Saturday at 8:00
a.m., but were delayed because of technical difficulties.

Although the trials were declared successful, Gatot said KAI
would keep an eye on the condition of the bridge for the next two
weeks.

"PT KAI plans to build a permanent bridge but it will take us
some six to eight months and will cost us up to Rp 2.5 billion,"
Gatot said without elaborating.

According to Gatot the repair work cost the railway company Rp
500 million.

The bridge collapsed on June 20, with major damage occurring
in the middle of the bridge which slumped nearly 1.5 meters.

The damage resulted in massive delays as the railway line
connects the island's major cities like Semarang and Surabaya.

Gatot added that financial losses due to massive delays in the
train schedules in the past 10 days reached Rp 3 billion. (45/25)