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Railway crossings under scrutiny amid train, vehicle crashes
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Workers remove a bus that was hit by a train serving the Palembang-Bandar Lampung route at an unguarded railroad crossing in Martapura district, East Ogan Komering Ulu regency, South Sumatra on April 21, 2024. (Antara/T Fikri W)
C
ollisions between trains and road vehicles on railway level crossings continue to occur with many analysts pointing to a disregard for safety that has remained unchanged over the years.
In the latest incident a train crashed into a bus on the tracks at a crossing in East Ogan Komering Ulu regency, South Sumatra on Sunday, after the bus sped onto the line, according to authorities.
One bus passenger was killed in the crash and 11 others were injured. No fatalities among the train passengers were recorded.
The crash adds to the long list of collisions between trains and vehicles at railway crossings across the country, which has seen numerous instances of lax management or insufficient infrastructure in place to prevent vehicles from crossing the railway at critical times.
Level crossings are among the most common intersections where train tracks meet roads with 4,070 such crossings across Indonesia, according to state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
However, only some 1,500 crossings are controlled by gatekeepers from KAI, while the rest remain unguarded.
The railway operator has recorded 414 accidents at crossings throughout 2023 and up to last month. The crashes led to 124 fatalities and 197 people being injured.
