Railroad Day and the Ambarawa Museum

By Tjahjono Rahardjo

SEMARANG (JP): On Sept. 28, 1945, newly independent Indonesia took over the management of its railroads from the defeated Japanese occupation authorities. This day has been designated as Hari Kereta Api (Railroad Day).

Given the Indonesian penchant for ceremonies, no doubt an official program will be organized this year to celebrate the day, though many people would argue that there is really not much to celebrate.

Indonesian passenger trains -- except, perhaps, the executive class Argo trains -- are seldom on time, lack even the most basic amenities (such as water to flush the toilets, if there is a toilet at all), and, worst of all, are accident-prone. What Indonesia inherited from the Japanese was a very dilapidated railroad system.

Locomotives and rolling stock were badly maintained during the war years and whole lines had been pulled up, to be used in other Japanese occupied territories. And after fifty-five years it seems that Indonesia's railroads never completely recovered from the disastrous effects of the war and the subsequent political turmoil of the early fifties, despite the real progress that had been made thus far.

It might just be coincidence, but it is probably unfortunate that the date selected for Railroad Day marked a moment when Indonesia's railroads were at their lowest ebb. One wonders why the date when the first railroad line in Indonesia was opened, Aug. 10, 1867, was not selected instead. Was it, perhaps, because patriotic sentiments at that time did not allow the glorification of a blatantly imperialistic endeavor such as a colonial railroad, so that a more "appropriate" date had to be selected?

Patriotic or not, the fact is that the pre-World War II years were the heyday of the Indonesian railroad system. The network was at its greatest extent and the service it provided rivaled even that in the Netherlands itself.

The trains were so regular that in the early 20th century court scribes could write about Pakubuwono X of Surakarta informing his fellow sultan, Hamengkubuwono VII of Yogyakarta, that when his 7:49 train pulled up he "boarded the train and at six minutes after the hour of eight the coach began to move."

In those days one could already travel from Batavia (Jakarta) to Surabaya via Yogyakarta in 11 hours and 30 minutes, while the trip to Bandung would take 2 hours and 30 minutes, which is not bad at all even by today's standards.

Fortunately, those great days of Indonesia's railroads have not been completely forgotten. At the station of Ambarawa, which is now Indonesia's only locomotive museum, preserved steam locomotives that used to serve in the colonial railways can still be seen on display. In total there are 21 steam locomotives, the oldest one built in 1891 and the most recent in 1928.

In addition, there are three operable rack locomotives: the B2502, B2503 (another member of the family, the B2501, is preserved in the nearby Ambarawa Battle Museum) and the E1060 (which originally came from West Sumatra). These three locomotives are occasionally used to haul the heritage train that runs between Ambarawa and Bedono, along Java's only rack line.

Ambarawa is just a small town in Central Java, but the colonial government saw its military importance. In recognition of its strategic significance it was given the name Willem I, in honor of King Willem I (r. 1815-1840), the first king of the unified Kingdom of the Netherlands. Willem I was called "the Merchant King" for his role in promoting the country's industry and commerce. Only a very few cities and towns in the East Indies were given Dutch names. Besides Ambarawa, the other places were Batavia (Jakarta), Buitenzorg (Bogor) and Fort de Kock (Bukittinggi).

Another sign of Ambarawa's importance was the construction in 1873 of a branch line of the Netherlands Indies' first railroad just to serve the town. In addition, a remarkably large station building for such a small town served as its terminus. Later, a mountain tramway connected it with Magelang, another important garrison town.

According to Dr. Robert Lee, Director of the Center for Asian Studies, University of West Sidney MacArthur in Australia: "Nearly all of Java's railways pass through areas of great scenic beauty, and some cross mountain ravines, often terraces with rice fields, using high steel bridges.

The very busy main line between Jakarta and Bandung includes a number of such bridges, all traversed by dozens of passenger trains each day. However, spectacular as this line is, it is difficult to make any claims that it is unique. Such a claim can be made, however, for the nine kilometers of railway between Ambarawa and Bedono." He even goes as far as to suggest that Ambarawa has the potential to be one of the leading railway world heritage sites in Asia and the Pacific.

But the keyword here is "potential". A lot still has to be done to realize this potential. One of the most pressing actions that has to be taken is the conservation of the museum's collection, both the preserved and operable locomotives. At the moment all the preserved locomotives are displayed in the museum grounds without any protection from the elements.

The three operable locomotives do have their own shed. But this locomotive shed does not give them much protection either. Its metal roof is leaking and the skylights and windows are broken. If no immediate measures are taken, there is a great possibility that when Indonesians celebrate their 100th Railroad Day in 2045, nothing will be left of these formerly mighty locomotives except heaps of rusting iron.