'Upgrade trains, maintain them'

'Upgrade trains, maintain them'

Four people have died and hundreds of other passengers suffered
injuries from a train collision in South Jakarta on June 30.
Investigations into the cause of the accident are considering the
possibility the driver of the train that rammed into the parked
locomotive missed a red signal light. Residents speaking to The
Jakarta Post, however, fingered badly maintained trains along
with poor safety standards and enforcement as the main reasons
why frequent rail accidents took place.

Kesya Owens, 35, is a civil engineer who works in South
Jakarta:

It always give me this uneasy feeling when I see a commuter
train passing by.

You know why? None of its doors are ever closed.

Also, I just don't understand why people build houses so close
to the rail tracks.

In the Netherlands, they enforce safe distances to separate
train tracks and neighborhoods. And the trains there, for example
the route from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, are equipped with
state-of-the-art technology. Although there is a driver, the
train can also be operated automatically.

Passengers can help the driver stop the train in a case of an
emergency by pulling hand brakes that are placed at certain
points in the cabins.

Daniel Lestanto, 28, is a human resources consultant who works
in Central Jakarta:

There are two important things that PT KAI must concern itself
with. First, the company should to develop its human resources.
If management fulfilled its duties then everyone would do their
jobs better.

The second concern is the technology. I think 70 percent of PT
KAI's machines and equipment are obsolete.

When one considers the crowds of passengers getting on the
trains every day, it is clear that the service needs an upgrade.

If the government realizes that trains are an effective mode
of transportation that helps reduce vehicle traffic in Jakarta,
the decision shouldn't be that difficult.

The locomotives, which are rundown and old and need to be
repaired. And PT KAI staff must keep checking the condition of
the lines, especially since many people have been trying to steal
rails and screws that are valuable on the black market.

If not, trains will continue to derail.

-- The Jakarta Post