Train crashes no big deal for KAI, public
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Seconds before its scheduled departure from Depok station at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, people were continuing to board the overcrowded train.
And not just the conventional way either. Teenagers and adults alike were flinging themselves onto the roof, which was also packed.
"This is normal for us. If we can't find space here (in the cars) then we ride on the roof, as long as we arrive at our workplace," Joko, a regular commuter, told The Jakarta Post.
The passengers on the roof seemed to have forgotten the June 30 train crash in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, in which four people were killed and hundreds of others -- many rooftop passengers -- were injured.
"It was just bad luck. Besides, we have no choice. Trains are the fastest and cheapest transportation in Jakarta," Joko said.
The train stopped at nine stations before Joko and dozens of other passengers alighted at Cawang station, South Jakarta. The station official did not check their tickets, in fact many passengers were able to slip by him. But he appeared unperturbed by their self-assurance.
Several people even exited the station via the back, where no fence separates the station from houses.
"Why would I buy a ticket if others don't? If KAI officials took tougher action, then we would have no choice but to buy a ticket," Joko said.
The Post observed similar situations at stations from Depok to Kota.
Peak hours for city trains are between 6:00 a.m. and 10 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. The huge number of passengers during these periods means onboard checking of tickets is not feasible.
Kota stationmaster Suyatno said around 80,000 passengers passed through the station daily, but only half of them bought tickets.
He said, with tickets priced from Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000, PT KAI loses Rp 40 million to Rp 80 million a day at Kota station alone.
Suyatno said it was difficult for an overloaded train to make a sudden stop in an emergency.
"The crash in Pasar Minggu was an example of how the brakes did not work with too many passengers. He hit the brakes 30 meters away from the other train, but crashed into it anyway as the train wheels slipped," Suyatno said.
He said that if a train was overloaded with passengers, the driver needed to brake at least 100 meters away.
Suyatno said drivers were fully aware of their situations due to effective communications equipment.
Big stations like Kota, Senen, Gambir and Jatinegara have a screen to monitor their own operations, while Jakarta -- as a whole -- can be monitored from a big screen in Manggarai, South Jakarta.
On the screen, a red light indicates a train is traveling on a line, a green light indicates it is empty.
"We have a special telephone at each of the stations for KAI communications and each driver has a walkie-talkie to communicate with each station," Suyatno said.
While approximately 450,000 people a day travel by train in the Greater Jakarta area, according to Taufik Hidayat -- a train researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) -- although KAI reported a Rp 4 billion profit in 2004, it lost a lot due to inefficiency.
"The government has asked KAI to be profitable, whatever it takes, so the company reports a profit each year. In reality, it suffers a great deal of loss if it counts all its expenses," Taufik told the Post.