'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