Rail Line Closed Due to Landslide, KAI Redirects Passengers to Buses
Several train journeys have been affected by the incident involving Train 174 Ciremai, which collided with landslide material at kilometre 142+8/9 on the Maswati-Sasaksaat (MSI–SKT) track section.
One of them, KA Serayu from Purwokerto to Pasar Senen via Bandung, was forced to disembark passengers at Padalarang Station.
All passengers were asked to continue their journey by bus from the station, hired by PT KAI. One such passenger was Linda, 32, on KA Serayu heading to Jatinegara.
“This afternoon, the train I was on had already passed Padalarang Station. When approaching the location, the train stopped for quite a while; it turned out the train was pulled back to Padalarang,” said Linda at Padalarang Station on Wednesday (1/4).
She said that PT KAI only provided certainty that all passengers would be redirected by bus after two hours of waiting at the station.
“When it stopped earlier, I thought it was just a diversion, but it turned out there was an issue on the rail line,” she added.
Manager of Public Relations for PT KAI Daop 2 Bandung, Kuswardoyo, stated that at least seven train journeys were cancelled due to the incident.
“For now, we have cancelled 7 journeys, either fully or partially. KA Parahyangan, KA Papandayan, Commuter Line,” he explained.
PT KAI allows train users to cancel tickets or reschedule departures. For passengers already on board, they will be transferred to other modes of transport.
Until just before midnight, personnel were still attempting to evacuate the locomotive trapped in the landslide. Meanwhile, the 10 carriages of KA Ciremai have been pulled to Rende Station.
The evacuation of the KA Ciremai locomotive is hampered by the weather and the potential for follow-up landslides. Nevertheless, personnel will continue to try to remove the locomotive body from the incident site so that train services can return to normal.
“The prediction of when it will be completed cannot yet be confirmed, but we are trying as quickly as possible,” he clarified.
Previously, Train 174 Ciremai on the Semarang Tawang-Bandung route experienced an incident at kilometre 142+8/9 on the Maswati-Sasaksaat (MSI–SKT) track section, specifically in Kampung Galudra, Mandalasari Village, Cikalongwetan Subdistrict, West Bandung Regency, on Wednesday (1/4) around 14:48 WIB.
PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) quickly handled the landslide incident on the Maswati–Sasaksaat line in the Bandung area, West Java.
The train could not continue its journey for the safety and security of passengers.