T

his is an open letter to State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, with the fervent hope that he may read the following impassioned plea for immediate improvement of train services, especially those servicing the now abominable Bogor-Jakarta route.

Ever since the Express-Train Service plying the Jakarta-Bogor route was canceled last year (a very grave mistake on the part of KAI) large numbers of commuters from Bogor to Jakarta have experienced escalating difficulties in traveling, as well as immensely increased daily suffering as a result.

The description of human suffering and the degrading situation of the trains has been published many times in the media, but so far no avail.

Those of us, Bogorians, who are not office-workers, who actually preferred to use the Express Train services to go to Jakarta, did so for a number of reasons.

We do have cars and can drive, and even have chauffeurs, but the prospect of spending more than three hours on a road congested with traffic jams was and is very much daunting, aside from downright exhausting, especially so if we only want to go to Glodok or Mangga Dua or down-town Jakarta.

We don’t have cars and/or cannot drive, but we often want to visit certain places in Jakarta armed with the secure knowledge that we can travel swiftly to our destination, have plenty of time to do our errands, and that we can return in comfort in an air-conditioned car with ample room to sit down.

Of course, office workers and business people also very much desire to enjoy this kind of comfort.

Several weeks ago, my friend and neighbor Wim de Léon, age 83, had to go to an office in Jakarta for urgent business.

After boarding the already densely packed commuter train to Jakarta, this elderly but spirited gentleman had to stand for the entire length of his wearisome journey to Jakarta — it was a long time indeed, as the train stopped at every station in between, and at each station additional people forced their way into the cabin.

After arriving in Jakarta, while he was sitting down on a bench to gulp large breaths of reviving fresh air, my friend was advised by a railway employee at Gambir Station that he should try to board the return train to Bogor before 11 a.m., as “there was a possibility he could still get a place to sit then.”

This unwelcome news made my elderly friend jump up and rush to finish his business in a tearing hurry in the scant one hour-and-a half that remained to him before his return to Bogor. Needless to say, all of us who listened to De Léon’s tale (and similar true horrendous stories by other commuters) were so discouraged that we didn’t even want to try using the present Jabodetabek commuter services.

Please consider establishing First Class train compartments again, complete with air-conditioning, and, if possible, re-establish the much-missed services of the Express Train on the Jakarta-Bogor route as well.

Many of them have said that they have no objection at all to paying Rp 20.000,- to Rp 25.000,-, or even more, for a single First Class Express Train ticket. Many Jakartans, whom I have discussed this with, have said the same thing.

The train transport between Bogor and Jakarta, and vice versa, really needs immediate and drastic improvement. Moreover, the Fasting Month and Idul Fitri are coming up.

Tami Koestomo
Bogor, West Java