Travel by train is safe: Official

JAKARTA (JP): An official at state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) assured the public on Tuesday that it was safe for commuters to use trains.

"We have urged our train dispatchers to ensure that there will be no trains speeding on single line tracks anymore," KAI spokesman for Greater Jakarta Zainal Abidin told The Jakarta Post.

He said the company would do its best to cope with the problem.

"We assure passengers of their safety to the best of our ability. If accidents happen again, it will be the will of God," he said.

So far, human error, together with defective train signals and serious damage at KAI's central traffic control (CTC) system in Manggarai, South Jakarta, has been blamed as the main cause of Monday's head-on collision between the two trains. The trains collided on a single line track at the Bumi Serpong Damai housing complex on Monday, killing four people and injuring 37 others.

Following the latest accident, Director General of Land Transportation Santo Budiono announced his resignation on Tuesday.

The resignation letter, No. 205/DJ/V/2000 and dated May 2, 2000, was sent to the minister of communications on Tuesday morning.

Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar has yet to officially approve Santo's request, but said he respected his subordinate's decision.

"I may also follow him (to request retirement). But it will depend on the President's judgment of my performance."

Santo, a retired Army major general, said there were a myriad of problems behind the train disasters, including the recent economic crisis, which might have affected the poor performance of the railway company.

"I am responsible for the accidents. This is my moral responsibility to the people," he told reporters at the Ministry of Communications.

"Technically the causes of the crash could be clearly explained, but morally I take accountability."

He said he decided to resign after the latest accident in Serpong, as seven accidents within three months was too much.

"People are suffering as a result of these accidents while the railway service was fully on my shoulders.

"I herewith also express my apology to the people," Santo said.

On April 18 four people were killed in a three-train collision in Karawang, West Java. At least eight people were injured in the accident.

On April 28, more than 20 people were injured when a Jabotabek commuter train hit a Pakuan express train in South Jakarta.

Santo was appointed director general of land transportation on April 17, 1996 after heading the education and training department at the same ministry.

Some people said they hoped that Santo's resignation could become a valuable lesson for Indonesian government officials, who are usually adamant about holding their posts despite ample failures.

Meanwhile, KAI national spokesman Gatot Wibowo dismissed speculation that the company's president director Edie Haryoto had also resigned.

"Up to this time, there is no information available saying that KAI's president director has resigned," he said in the West Java capital of Bandung on Tuesday.

Private television channel ANteve quoted Agum on Tuesday evening as saying that Edie had joined Santo in resigning from his post.

Gatot said the company was now counting the losses caused by the accident. "The losses are estimated at between Rp 2 billion and Rp 3 billion," he said.

Zainal Abidin said the company had set up a special team to investigate the cause of the accident, comprising members of the company's staff.

"We will investigate why the train dispatchers from both stations dispatched the trains at the same time. But we are waiting to hear from the police, since the two men are still being questioned by them," he said.

Besides human error, defective equipment also contributed to the accident.

"Lightning struck our (CTC) system on Friday, meaning that the operation center was not able to locate the position of trains throughout the city," he said, adding that the train drivers and dispatchers were forced to use walkie-talkies and interstation telephones.

Technically, the electricity from the lightning, which struck the company's 75-meter-high lightning rod, should have gone to the ground via the available cable.

But the cable, part of which was apparently damaged, split the electricity flow to the panel of cables at the operation center, a technician at the center said.

Another KAI official, Whosep Muktamar, said on Monday that the repair of the CTC would be completed on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, several company staff members were still busy repairing the burned devices on the third floor of the operation center's building.

A staff member, who requested anonymity, said the repair of the telephones could take one week. (25/asa/dja/sur)