Power failure disrupts electic train services

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of passengers were left stranded last Saturday at several railway stations as the railway track between Depok and downtown Kota could not be used due to a power failure at Pondok Cina railway station, South Jakarta.

An officer at the station said the blackout was caused by damaged cables on three electricity poles. The damage took place at 5:30 a.m. and it took almost five hours before technicians were able to repair it.

Public relations chief of the Jakarta office of state-owned Kereta Api Indonesia Zainal Abidin confirmed the problem, saying that the electric cables along the train tracks from Bogor to Depok were already old.

The electric trains traveling between Kota (Jakarta) and Bogor, West Java, had to stop at Pasar Minggu railway station for five hours while the cables were repaired.

Zainal said some stations even had to cancel some trains' schedules due to the power failure.

Thousands of passengers were seen stranded at railway stations, especially at Depok railway station.

Trains from Kota railway station could only reach Pasar Minggu station due to the blackout at Pondok Cina station which is located between Pasar Minggu and Depok.