Train derails in Karawang, 18 passengers injured
Train derails in Karawang, 18 passengers injured
Nana Rukmana and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post,
Cirebon/Bandung
At least 18 passengers were injured when their train derailed on
Friday in Karawang regency, West Java, disrupting rail service in
the region, officials said.
Some of the victims sustained serious injuries but no
casualties were reported.
The Kamandanu train was traveling from Gambir railroad station
in Jakarta to the Central Java capital of Semarang when it
derailed at 9:45 a.m. near Tanjung Baru village, East Karawang
subdistrict, some 40 kilometers from Jakarta.
State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) said
four of the train's cars overturned during the accident.
KAI spokesman Patria Supriyoso said the incident was thought
to have been caused by a malfunction in the train's wheels.
Officials are investigating the crash to determine the exact
cause.
Speaking in the West Java capital of Bandung, the spokesman
said KAI would hold its equipment maintenance division
responsible for the accident.
"If such accidents continue to occur, we will surely take firm
action against those executives responsible," he told The Jakarta
Post.
According to normal operating procedures, every train must be
checked by maintenance officers at least 30 minutes before
departure, he said.
But the procedures are often ignored because of trains
arriving late at stations, he said.
The derailment forced the cancellation or late departure of
several other trains.
Yoseph, deputy head of the Kejaksaan Besar station in the West
Java city of Cirebon, said the accident forced his office to
cancel an express train that was due to depart for Jakarta at 2
p.m.
All of the passengers of canceled trains are eligible for
ticket refunds, said Suhartono, the spokesman for KAI's Operation
Region III in Cirebon.
Two trains serving the Bandung-Jakarta route also were
canceled. The trains were to have left Bandung at 11 a.m and 12
p.m.
More than 400 passengers of trains that left Bandung for
Jakarta at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. had to be transferred to buses to
finish their trip from the Cikampek railroad station.
The disruptions caused about Rp 25 million in losses to KAI,
said Akhmad Sujadi, spokesman for the company's Operation Region
II in Bandung.
The company said it would pay all medical expenses for the 18
passengers injured in the accident.
Train derailments and crashes occur frequently on the
country's aging railroad network. In June, a passenger train
slammed into a minibus in Central Java, killing 15 people.