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View all search resultsTrain exhibit offers a ride through history
As Idul Fitri approaches, non-native Jakartans are rushing to buy train tickets back to their hometowns for the holiday
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A
s Idul Fitri approaches, non-native Jakartans are rushing to buy train tickets back to their hometowns for the holiday.
Train have become a preferred way to travel during holiday season — at the time when airline fares
skyrocket and traveling by car becomes an ordeal because of the massive congestion along main routes across Java.
The annual exodus from the capital by train is not only an indication of the importance of railway services, but also brings back memories of train rides from decades ago.
The plan to build a rail network in the country was launched by Col. Jhr. Van Der Wijk in 1840, citing the success of trains as the means of logistic and mass transportation in Europe.
He proposed to build the Jakarta-Surabaya (East Java) route passing Bandung in West Java and Yogyakarta and Surakarta in Central Java, but the Dutch government instead opted to build the Semarang–Surakarta–Yogyakarta route.
Trip in time: Bon Bon, the pioneer of the Greater Jakarta Electric Train system, is seen in this picture. Courtesy of Balai Yasa Manggarai
The first railway built was the 26-kilometer track running from Semarang to Tanggung village in Grobogan regency. The country’s first train ran on Aug. 10, 1867.
Sixty years later, the need for mass transportation increased.
The first electric train was launched in Batavia, now Jakarta, in 1925.
The train — known by the moniker Bon Bon — served three routes. The first route ran from Kota to Jatinegara and passed Gambir and Manggarai. The second route ran from Kota to Jatinegara and passed Kemayoran and Senen, while the third route ran from Kota to Tanjung Priok and passed Ancol.
“Bon Bon was the pioneer of what is now the KRL Jabodetabek [Greater Jakarta Electric Train]. We can still see the historic locomotive at Manggarai station,” Leo Krisanto, a member of the Indonesian Railway Preservation Society (IRPS), said.
Leo is a guide at the ongoing Indonesia Railway Exhibition, organized by state railway operator PT Kereta Api (KAI).
The exhibition at Kota train station runs until July 26, and features a gallery and information on the history if the country’s railway network, film screenings, discussions and a trip to a train repair yard that is not normally open to the public.
PT KAI operations spokesman I Mateta Rizalulhaq said he was not authorized to issue a permit and a request to visit the center should be directly addressed to the train yard.
The exhibition also highlights interesting facts on trains, such as the different names given to this mode of transportation in different areas, such as sepur in most parts of Java, Si Gombar in Garut, West Java, Si Cemet in Karawang, and Mak Itam in West Sumatra.
Jarot Iskandar, a commuter from Bekasi, said he hoped PT KAI would improve its performance by providing more comfortable trains to steadily increase the number of commuters each year.
“I think the railway should become the backbone of mass transportation because it is reliable
and safe.”
