Unread Signals
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA - On Monday evening, 27 April 2026, at 20:52 WIB, thousands of residents from Jakarta and its surroundings were on their way home after a long day. Among them, hundreds of passengers on the KRL Commuter Line bound for Cikarang were stopped at Bekasi Timur Station, waiting for the track ahead to clear.
Suddenly, from behind, the KA Argo Bromo Anggrek train, travelling at around 110 kilometres per hour, slammed into the KRL train with great force. The carriage that bore the brunt of the impact was the rearmost one, the dedicated women’s carriage.
The long-distance train’s locomotive ploughed in, shattering iron and steel into a pile of debris. By the next day, 15 people had been recorded as fatalities, and 88 injured individuals were receiving treatment at various hospitals.
Inside the pink-coloured carriage, introduced in 2010, all the passengers were women going about their simplest daily routine: heading home from work. There were office workers, teachers, media employees, women, and mothers on their way back to their homes and families.
The women’s-only carriage, designed to protect women, particularly from harassment and discomfort in crowded public transport, became the carriage that suffered the most in the disaster that night. Last week in this column, I shared an article about Kartini and the struggle of women; today, that struggle feels very real and very painful.
Initial investigations revealed that this accident did not stem from a single point. There was a chain of interconnected events that caused the tragedy. An electric taxi experienced a short circuit and broke down in the middle of the level crossing on Jalan Ampera, not far from Bekasi Timur Station. The crossing had no automatic barriers and no KAI staff on duty.
The stalled taxi was then hit by the KRL from the Cikarang direction, causing another KRL from the Jakarta direction to stop at Bekasi Timur Station to wait for a clear signal. It was at that moment that the KA Argo Bromo Anggrek, speeding from behind, crashed into the stationary KRL waiting for the signal.
Was the signal not read by the KA Argo Bromo Anggrek, or was there another cause? The Bekasi Timur tragedy offers many lessons, from level crossings that are minimally guarded, to drivers who cross recklessly, to a signalling system that is not yet fully reliable.
Various analyses have emerged in the media, with causes generally divided into two: human negligence and technological reliability. A combination of errors on both sides can lead to fatal accidents.
It cannot be denied that some road users take railway crossing barriers lightly. Like one reckless decision by a driver that night, which became the domino trigger that claimed the lives of innocent people. Similarly, on the technological side, the need for audits and ongoing updates to the signalling system must not stop. These two aspects must continue to receive attention, and this is an important task, especially in the academic environment.
This phenomenon is actually not unfamiliar in the environment of Universitas Amikom Yogyakarta. An open coworking space has just been introduced as a space for collaboration and creativity for the entire academic community.
A facility that is well-designed, with good intentions. However, in its first days of use, a distressing sight emerged: cigarette butts scattered in the corners of the open space, left behind by academics who smoked carelessly. Additions and improvements to infrastructure continue to be introduced, but user behaviour has not fully kept pace.
Technological advancement and behavioural advancement are two wheels that must turn together. No matter how sophisticated the train signalling system is, mitigation and renewal must be continuously maintained. Likewise, every technology remains vulnerable if the humans around it act recklessly.
This is where universities must carry out one of their most fundamental responsibilities. In addition to producing technically competent graduates, universities must also shape individuals who have awareness and responsibility towards their surroundings.
May the victims of the Bekasi Timur tragedy find peace, and may the families left behind be granted strength. From this heartbreaking event, we are invited not only to continue developing technology, but also to look inward: have we become responsible users of the shared spaces and systems?
Allah SWT says: “And do not cause corruption on the earth after it has been set in order. And invoke Him in fear and aspiration. Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.” (QS. Al-A’raf: 56).
Guarding railway crossings, keeping cigarette butts from littering, maintaining shared spaces to remain suitable for all, are small forms of the responsibility that Allah has entrusted to us as inhabitants of the earth.
Wallahu A’lam