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Jakarta Post

Editorial: Off the rails

A quiet tragedy occurred on the weekend — the end of an almost 40-year-old icon, the Parahyangan train plying the Bandung-Jakarta route

The Jakarta Post
Wed, April 28, 2010

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Editorial: Off the rails

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quiet tragedy occurred on the weekend — the end of an almost 40-year-old icon, the Parahyangan train plying the Bandung-Jakarta route.

On one hand it was a sad development for regular passengers, including students and employees based in either Jakarta or Bandung, the capital of West Java.

The train had been operating since July 1971, and passengers would rush to the station each weekend, bringing oleh-oleh (souvenirs) — either traditional snacks for the family in Jakarta, or doughnuts from Gambir station when Bandung didn’t have a Dunkin Donuts.

One passenger and his family came all the way from Batam in Riau Islands to watch the send off of the last Parahyangan.

On the other hand, a train plying the same route is still there — the Parahyangan has been replaced by the Argo Parahyangan, incorporating the former brand into executive Argo carriages, retaining fewer economy-class seats. So it doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

But a closer look reveals that the last Parahyangan departure on Tuesday was a national tragedy, as the cited reason for its end was business losses resulting from the people using the turnpike connecting the two cities instead.

The development thus reflects the national, misguided penchant for sacrificing mass transportation for private transport, leaving fewer options for those seeking to save on transport costs.

The toll road, officially opened in 2005, in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of the Non-Alignment Movement hosted in Bandung, has provided a shorter alternative for commuters and holidaygoers, reducing the journey to two hours instead of three on the train.

The state railways operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia says the 41-kilometer Cipularang turnpike was responsible for last year’s loss of Rp 36 billion, that was behind the decision to stop the Parahyangan: Perfect business logic — only it doesn’t consider the expense in terms of the loss of public service and a mode of transportation — greener than all the SUVs on the turnpike that end up clogging Bandung streets every weekend, much to the annoyance of local residents.

Without the government stepping in to either subsidize or privatize train routes, other inter-city railway routes are exposed to a similar fate. The political need of a populist image for those in power may be partially responsible for unclear follow-up measures on plans to at least privatize management of the tracks, if not the entire railway system.

Letting PT KAI bleed on its own also shows a government that doesn’t really care about the vital need to end our legacy of a transportation policy that has, since the early years of the New Order, been biased towards gas-guzzling, privately owned land transport vehicles.

Under a president who pledged “prosperity, democracy and justice” the government still has little to show in terms of transportation improvements, while passengers deal with crowded filthy trains, wait in eternity for TransJakarta buses, or go back to using air-conditioned cars.

It is taking forever for our politicians to learn that feeling part of a modern nation means being able, in part, to be a dignified public transport passenger.

 

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