Bogor-Jakarta commuter train derailed

An official examines a train that left the tracks at Cilebut station, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday. No casualties were reported in the accident that involved an air-conditioned train serving the Bogor-Jakarta route. (Antara/Jafkhairi)

An air-conditioned commuter train serving Bogor-Jakarta route was derailed at Cilebut station in Bogor, West Java at 6:25 a.m. on Thursday.

No casualties were reported in the accident but it caused hundreds of frightened passengers to leave the train and continue their journey by public minivans and motorcycle taxis to the next station, Bojonggede.

Passenger Galang, 35, said the train had been unstable as it approached the station. When the train hit the platform, all the passengers felt the impact, he added.

“We were trapped for five minutes after the carriages slipped off the rails, but then the doors opened,” he said.

PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek spokesman Mateta Rijalulhaq said on Thursday that the train was derailed due to a broken track.

“There is an estimated 20-centimeter part of the track that is broken, when the train tried to stop, the carriages slipped off the rails,” he said as quoted by Antaranews.com.

Mateta denied that the broken rail was caused by poor maintenance, insisting that the company routinely checked the tracks.

“The train affected was not the first one operating today, so previous trains must have damaged the track,” he said, adding that PT KAI would investigate the incident further.

While PT KAI staff removed the carriages, at least 40 schedules were disrupted because of the accident. The route is currently limited to Bojong Bede – Jakarta. (cor/iwa)