As the train honks to clear the way for it's departure from Bekasi station in West Java to Tanah Abang station in Central Jakarta, train driver Endang Hermawan scopes the tracks for passengers crossing to the station's other platform.
While Endang ensures the train does not crush any passing commuters, his two daughters, dressed in their high-school uniforms, sit restlessly as other passengers try to make their way into the packed locomotive cabin.
As the sun sets, darkness creeps into the cabin, but Endang remains unperturbed with his surroundings.
"That's the switch *to light up the cabin*. Don't ask if it works," he said.
Endang, who has been a train driver for 23 years, is surprisingly jovial and enthusiastic for a 51-year-old man who has had to endure the hardships of operating a train that lacks basic safety standards.
"I never dreamed of becoming a train driver," the high school graduate said.
"This is not a job that everybody wants to do."
Train drivers form part of the civil servant corps. With a rank of 3B, Endang roughly receives a take-home pay of around Rp 2.2 million (US$236) a month.
"The salary is enough for me to send my children to school as well as feed my family," Endang said while supervising his assistant controlling the train speed.
More than often, Endang has to jump off the locomotive to fix a broken engine, ensuring a quick fix to prevent the train from delaying any trains following on the track.
Most of the locomotives and coaches in the Greater Jakarta network have already been in service for more than 30 years.
"I think in other countries, an old train like this would have ended up in a museum or scrap yard," Endang laughed.
But according to train driver Agus Wahid, 50, who operates the Kota-Tangerang route, the worst experience for train drivers is vandalism.
"The train regularly becomes a target of stones thrown by frustrated people. That is why there is a steel bar covering the driver's window," said Agus, who began driving trains in 2004.
"I think it's the government's fault. These people are unemployed and they throw stones to express their anger."
In 2006, a train driver was blinded in one eye by a thrown stone.
Despite the risk, train drivers carry the burden of ensuring the safety of 400,000 commuters in Greater Jakarta everyday.
To ensure their professionalism, train drivers have to pass an exam at one of state railway company PT Kereta Api's training camps in Yogyakarta, Bandung or Jakarta.
Those without any technical academic background undertake one year's training, while those who are technically proficient attend three to six months in class.
There are around 200 train drivers on the Greater Jakarta network, according to Endang.
A train locomotive is operated by two train drivers: The captain and an assistant, who work in turns for eight hours a day.
"There is no such thing as *lunch time' for us. We usually have our meals *in the cabin*," said Endang.
When stopped at a station the driver has a moment to rush for food and drinks from the hucksters.
Aspirational young train driver Agi Priyanto, 23, who serves the Bekasi-Tanah Abang route, believed the profession was rich with opportunity and held interesting experiences along the way.
With a take-home pay of around Rp 1.2 million, Agi somehow has the liberty to choose to drive either old or new engines.
"I can have an old train with a lot of technical problems, but there are also chances to choose a new train," he said.
"There is a difference *in pay* between newcomers and the others. But life isn't always about the money. It's the thrill of the ride," he said. (not/rdf)
