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Bekasi commuters hope for better services, bigger train stations
Overcrowded stations, trains that arrive behind schedule and troubles over train signals that leave passengers stuck on the railway are just some of the problems that commuters hope will be fixed sooner rather than later.
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Hundreds of commuter line passengers heading to Bekasi are left stranded at Manggarai Station after train operations were disrupted by major floods on Thursday, Jan. 2. (Antara/Paramayuda)
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s someone who has used the commuter train for almost 10 years to travel from his house in Bekasi, West Java, to Jakarta, Gugi Mohammad Palevi said he, just like thousands of other Bekasi commuters, is used to all kinds of problems in the service.
He regularly experiences overcrowded stations, trains that arrive behind schedule and troubles over train signals that leave him stuck on the railway.
Gugi said he had been using the commuter line since 2011, when he used to travel from Bekasi to his college campus in Kuningan, South Jakarta. His commuting ways have changed little, as he now relies on the commuter train to get to his office on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta.
“When things are going just fine, I leave home at 8 a.m. and arrive at the office at 9:30 a.m. On the not-so-lucky days, I could spend hours in a train packed with hundreds of other commuters,” the 26-year-old said on Wednesday.
The commuter line, operated by state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) subsidiary PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), has recently implemented a new train schedule, including for the line connecting the capital with Bekasi.
The new schedule, called Train Route Graphics (Gapeka), has been in place since Dec. 1. Gapeka is aimed at optimizing the railway services of both the commuter line and long-distance trains through its network.
But for Gugi, he has yet to notice any differences since Gapeka’s launch.
