Trains of death
Given the choice, most people would avoid traveling by train in Indonesia these days. It is simply no longer safe to take the train. Death awaits you.
Three accidents on Christmas Day must be the last straw. There have been other major accidents in recent months of which we counted 13, involving fatalities and injuries, since April 2000.
Train accidents now occur too frequently for comfort.
What are the government and the railway authorities doing about this? Absolutely zilch.
The authorities are quick to act after each accident, in dealing with bodies and the injured, and in clearing the tracks to restore railway services. Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar has always made a point of visiting the crash site, of issuing a public apology and of comforting the injured victims.
But when it comes to improving the safety of passengers, we have yet to hear anything that gives us reassurance about traveling by train. On the contrary, things seem to get worse each time. The recent spate of accidents must now make us wonder about the safety of traveling by train and the government's commitment to improving passenger safety.
Unfortunately, for many people in Java, the train is the only mode of transportation available to them, especially those returning to their home villages to spend Idul Fitri or Christmas/New Year with their families. It is relatively fast and inexpensive compared with the alternatives.
It wouldn't surprise us therefore that the train operators will continue to enjoy booming trade throughout the rest of the current holiday season, in spite of Tuesday's fatal crashes.
As long as business is booming, the government and the railway authorities are under no commercial pressure to do anything about passenger safety. Passengers take the train at their own risk. With the risk of fatal accidents now rising, such an attitude is tantamount to sending people on a train of death. We are no longer talking about neglect on the part of the government. We are now talking about manslaughter.
Accidents happen for sure. Most people could accept one or two train accidents. Whatever the causes given, human or technical error, train accidents do occur even in the most advanced nations like the United States, Japan and the UK. But over there, the authorities are held accountable for every major accident, and for the death of passengers. Heads would roll, or those responsible would voluntarily resign to take the rap.
In Indonesia, no one is held accountable. No one is fired, except the errant drivers or signalmen. And nobody resigns, as some say it is a very un-Indonesian act to walk away from problems. (One transportation official who resigned last year was approaching his mandatory retirement age anyway, so he does not count).
Precisely because no one is held accountable or no one feels accountable, errors are compounded instead of being rectified after each accident. This is sheer incompetence, which unfortunately put people's lives in grave danger because accidents are occurring with greater frequency.
How many more accidents and fatalities will it take before the authorities get their act together? Perhaps Minister Agum Gumelar would care to answer that one.