Train passengers safety

It has been more than a year since President Soeharto launched the National Discipline Drive, yet up to now not many positive results are visible regarding the way the KRL Jabotabek electric trains are operated. This I can attest to, since I am among the hundreds of thousands of commuters who are disappointed and disregarded almost every day by the KRL Jabotabek management, or the Perumka state railway company.

Perumka is now more than 50 years old and by now its managers should know the peak hours. The facts indicate otherwise. During the morning and evening peak hours trains to and from Bogor often have only a limited number of carriages and do not run on schedule. As a consequence, passengers jam the carriages with some hanging out of the doors, which is of course extremely dangerous.

Perumka does indeed have posters warning of the dangers of hanging onto the doors of trains, but since they know this they could have added more carriages, run more frequent services and seen to it that trains run on schedule. All Perumka personnel should be responding to the President's appeal through concrete action and not by merely by hanging out banners with slogans that make us sick.

Perumka should keep in mind that we are mere little people who are used to accepting our lot and do not protest when fares are raised. But Perumka should improve its services.

KUSNANTO

Bogor