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Commuter line aims to reduce delays in train schedules amid floods of complaints
The technical glitches that often occur during operations include engine breakdowns, brake failures and train door malfunctions, in which the doors suddenly open in transit.
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Passengers jostle to get on and off a Commuter Line train at Manggarai Station in South Jakarta on Feb. 13. (JP/P.J. Leo)
S
andra Sibarani, a 26-year-old employee of a private company, recalled a time in February when she arrived at Gondangdia Station in Central Jakarta at around 5 p.m. to catch a commuter train in order to go home to Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta.
On regular days, she said, the train always arrived 10 minutes after her arrival at the station. On that particular day, however, she had to wait a lot longer as the train arrived around 40 minutes late.
“I was very tired from working and wanted to get home immediately, but the commuter train service was not being amenable that day,” Sandra told The Jakarta Post at Gondangdia Station on Thursday.
She said that a train had been derailed at Jayakarta Station, six stops before Gondangdia, causing disruption for all trains bound for Jakarta Kota station and vice versa.
“The situation was absolutely upsetting, but well, you just can’t predict when and where technical issues on the commuter train service will occur,” she added.
Another frequent commuter Doni Adrian, 29, also experienced a somewhat similar situation when making his way to his office in Tebet, South Jakarta, from Depok Baru Station in Depok, West Java, last year.
He recalled that his train suddenly stopped for 30 minutes between Universitas Indonesia Station and Universitas Pancasila Station after another train ahead of him suffered a breakdown at Pasar Minggu Station, three stops away.
