The Argo Parahyangan executive train traveling from Jakarta jumped the railway track as it entered Bandung station on Wednesday.
“The train had almost stopped when the incident occurred at 8:39 a.m. local time,” said Joni Martinus, the public relations division manager of II Regional Operation (Daop) Bandung of state-owned railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
Departing from Jakarta at 5:05 a.m., the train carried 475 passengers in 10 cars. When the train was about to enter Line 6 where the passengers were to disembark, the first three passenger cars suddenly jumped the railway tracks.
“The cars jumped the railway tracks at an angle,” said Joni, adding there were no fatalities in the incident.
KAI Daop II Bandung apologized to all passengers because they had to walk across the railway tracks to enter the station.
Joni said the incident did not cause any train delays as KAI had prepared three back up trains. “All train arrivals from both east and west were on schedule,” said Joni.
He said the station’s workers strove to return the cars onto the railway tracks immediately after the incident occurred. The workers used a crane and hydraulic pumps. Each boxcar weighs 18 to 20 tons when empty.
Joni said KAI was still investigating the cause of the incident.
“Line 6 had been checked by the station’s maintenance team and six trains had passed the line before the incident occurred,” he said, adding the railway tracks at the station are checked twice a day. (ebf)
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