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West Java train crash raises railway safety concerns
Four railway employees were killed in the head-on collision between a KA Turangga intercity train and a Bandung Raya commuter train.
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Search and rescue personnel work at the site of a collision between two trains in Cicalengka, West Java, on Jan 5, 2024. (AFP/Timur Matahari)
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fatal, head-on crash between two trains in Bandung regency, West Java, on Friday has put a spotlight on the condition and safety of the country’s railway infrastructure.
On Friday morning, a KA Turangga intercity train running from Surabaya to Bandung city collided head on with a Greater Bandung commuter train serving the Padalarang-Cicalengka route, killing four people, according to state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
The crash took place at 6:03 a.m. local time along a stretch of rice fields between Cicalengka and Haurpugur station. Both trains’ power cars were destroyed, and numerous train carriages were overturned.
The Turangga train was carrying 287 passengers at the time of the incident, while 191 people were on board the commuter train.
The commuter train’s engineer, Julian Dwi Setiyono, and his assistant Ponisam were killed in the incident, as were a station security guard, Enjang Yudi, and a Turangga train attendant named Ardiansyah, KAI reported. The state-owned company said their bodies had been recovered.
“We’re deeply saddened by the death of several train officials in the accident. We appreciate their service to the company,” KAI spokesperson Raden Agus Dwinanto Budiadji said in a statement on Friday.
Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati offered condolences to the families of the victims and apologized on behalf of the ministry for the disruption of railway services as a result of the accident.
