When trains pass once again through Lampegan tunnel

When trains pass once again through Lampegan tunnel

By YR Prahista

SUKABUMI, West Java (JP): On a hot day in July, a group of
children in Lampegan stopped playing, then ran for the railway
connecting Bandung with Sukabumi via Cianjur. Beaming, they
formed a line on both sides of the tracks. "A train comes again,
a train comes again," they shouted, almost in unison.

Their happiness was also shared by their parents. The people
living around Lampegan railway station thanked God because a
train would again connect them with the districts of Sukabumi and
Bandung. "We have had transportation problems for almost three
years," said Mang Eded, a Cimanggu resident.

Locals from the area and from the surrounding villages in
Cibeber sub-district, Cianjur district, usually travel to the
cities by train because other overland transportation is more
expensive.

However, on March 13, 1998 the Lampegan tunnel, through which
the railway line passes, was closed by a landslide. The ensuing
rain, heavy and continuous, made it impossible to remove the
material covering the tunnel. Since then they have had to use the
more expensive means of transportation.

It was not easy to remove the millions of cubic meters of soil
and rubble that had slumped from Keneng Hill across the tunnel
entrance. Heavy equipment was required. And the work could only
proceed when the soil was reasonably dry and competent.

"We have long anticipate the opening of the railway line
gain," said Ahmad Haris, a resident of Cibokor village, while
observing the trial run in July.

He was beaming with delight when he watched the train pass
through the tunnel. "To the Lampegan community, the tunnel has a
very interesting history," he added.

Measuring 670 meters in length, Lampegan tunnel passes through
Keneng Hill, at an elevation of about 652 meters above sea level.
A man named Bockman is credited with having designed and executed
the construction of the tunnel using the wet casting method. It
is said that he nurtured a great ambition to build this tunnel
because it was first to be built in West Java.

Hundreds of local people worked almost three years (1879 -
1882) to complete the tunnel. The arch of the tunnel was covered
with half-dry bricks, then the bricks were baked to form a strong
support by melding with the soil above.

To celebrate his success, Bockman invited an arts troupe and
held an all-night party for the locals. The party became
increasingly more festive as the night wore on. The most famous
dancer in the area, Nyi Sadea, had also been invited.

Locals tell the story that toward the end of the arts
performance, Nyi Sadea disappeared. She was reportedly approached
by a gallant gentleman and taken from the party. It was usual in
those days for a dancer to be taken from the venue by a man who
could successfully woo her. Usually, she would be out for less
than an hour then return.

Nyi Sadea, however, met with a different fate. Nobody knew
where she had been taken. When she failed to return, people
searched everywhere for her but to no avail. Her story is a local
legend of sorts.

According to locals, on some nights a woman can be heard
crying piteously. After a brief silence, the crying will resume,
heart-rending, screaming even. The locals believe that this is
Nyi Sadea crying.

Since the 1998 landslide there has been no train service
connecting Sukabumi with Bandung, one could take a train only
from Cianjur to Bandung.

About 200 meters east of the entrance to the tunnel is the
Lampegan railway station. This name at first rang strange in the
ears of the local Sundanese. It is said to have its origin from
the Dutch. "Steek lampen aan!" (Light all the lamps), the
conductor would shout every time his train was about to enter the
tunnel. To the local Sundanese, the sound was heard as
"Lampegan". Hence the name of the tunnel, the village and the
railway station.