All about railways in Indonesia (beware of HD pics)

[aryadwi_ef641030]

It seems that some of users here in this forum began to be fascinated with things related to railways in Indonesia, so I decided to start a new thread where everyone here can discuss anything related to the railways in Indonesia. Of course not only about the trains itself, but also the history behind the railway networks in Indonesia, infrastructures, photography spots for those who wants to capture Indonesian trains into a photo, and even disused railway lines scattered around Indonesia.

Here I start with the discussion about grade crossing equipments in Indonesia:

Today Indonesian Railways employed different types of grade grossing equipments, from imported products to locally-made equipments. While the standard type employed by Indonesian Railways is the ones manufactured by Nederlandse Machinefabriek Alkmaar (NMA) as early as 1970s or 1980s using the same design with those in Netherlands, Indonesian Railways are also employing products from different companies like Nippon Signal and Kyosan Seisakusho (Japan), even Safetran Systems (US) had exported some examples of their product to Indonesia (though in limited quantity). On the other side, equipments manufactured by local companies already gained popularity in Indonesia, even with additional features that are not available within products imported from overseas companies. And even the strangest one is the recycling of boom gates for parking area as boom gate for grade crossing by local authorities, which are common on grade crossings previously not equipped with boom gates and warning lights. But there is one similarity between all of them: outside the original version of grade crossing equipments manufactured by Japanese company, all of them employs the warning siren similar to the standard siren of police car, ambulance and firetruck commonly found in Europe (especially Netherlands).

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Here is the footages of Indonesia's grade crossings that I found on YouTube, categorized according the company who manufactured it (note that I attached only the link to the video, due to limitation for video tag):

1. Nederlandse Machinefabriek Alkmaar (NMA) - Netherlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZaCS7Tror8
Footage by Aldio Yudha Trisandy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EruDL3yZMXE
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlqN42SaFKM
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2iD7QcdsNQ
Footage by JPLtvChannel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hJ3FejxKNA
Footage by Syahrir Maulana Ghiffary

2. Nippon Signal + Kyosan Seisakusho - Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qsm5vKNFHI
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eo29XXQ30E
Footage by JPLtvChannel

3. Safetran Systems - US

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I67EO9YzBI
Footage by Aldio Yudha Trisandy. Note that this crossing employs warning lights and siren made by PT LEN Industri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqtqmIkQ_1g
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

4. PT LEN Industri - Indonesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HklnlDkIAqc
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN85QlK1nkk
Footage by JPLtvChannel

5. CV Wahyu Jaya - Indonesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=How2PNV-Oso
Footage by Aldio Yudha Trisandy

6. Nataya Putra - Indonesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6SFlYLdAkc
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrGZpTnChrA
Footage by Aldio Yudha Trisandy

7. Kreasi Anak Bangsa - Indonesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08wIbhuVEOA
Footage by Basman Hardajaya

8. Multec - Indonesia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OllZoyo8gE
Footage by Aldio Yudha Trisandy

All videos are credited to the respective original owner(s).

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Cheers,

Arya.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

I've added two illustrations of controller panel made by NMA of Netherlands for Indonesian Railways' grade crossing. There are two versions: 2 boom gate and 4 boom gate, controlled by a single switch and a red "Stop" button for temporarily stopping the boom gates (in case if a road vehicle is trapped inside the crossing.

A. 2-boom gate

Basically it has 4 notches, listed in clockwise direction:

1. "Normal" - the crossing gate is off
2. "Lampu dan Sumer" - activates warning lights and sirens
3. "Tutup Pintu 1 + 2" - lowers boom gates #1 and #2
4. "Buka Pintu 1 + 2" - raises boom gates #1 and #2

To turn off the warning lights and sirens, crossing operator only had to turn the switch back into "Normal" position.Since the controller switch was designed to be "rotating in 360 degrees manner", crossing operators doesn't need to worry about the direction of switch itself, as long as they conducts safe operations when operating the crossing. The condition of warning lights are displayed by two orange lights located above the "Stop" button.

B. 4-boom gate

While it has same functions with the 2 boom gate ones (even the basic layout is same), there are 6 notches for the controller switch:

1. "Normal" - the crossing gate is off
2. "Lampu dan Sumer" - activates warning lights and sirens
3. "Tutup Pintu 1 + 2" - lowers boom gates #1 and #2
4. "Tutup Pintu 3 + 4" - lowers boom gates #3 and #4
5. "Buka Pintu 3 + 4" - raises boom gates #3 and #4
6. "Buka Pintu 1 + 2" - raises boom gates #1 and #2

For those who are interested to how Indonesian Railways' crossing operators are operating the grade crossings with the controller panel as shown above, there is a video that showcases the operation of grade crossing in Indonesia (the scene for operating the crossing starts from 12:29, complete with the radio communication done by the operator for confirming the presence of a train that is about to pass the grade crossing):

Cheers,

Arya.

 

[JCitron]

Arya,

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been looking at the videos and GE links you have posted.

The alarm sound for the crossings is similar to what I remember from when I visited Taiwan in April 1987. One rainy Saturday, I had a day off from the factory I was visiting for a company I worked for. I found out how close I was to the TNR mainline and took a walk. Unfortunately, at the time I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but I enjoyed the day anyway.

Unlike Indonesia, Taiwan uses a Japanese type gate system that has a rope and net suspended from a gantry. When a train is arriving, the buzzer, bells, and sirens start and the gate/net is lowered. During my visit in 1987, this was done manually by a guard sitting in a small shack. The setup at this location protected a 6-track mainline with a constant stream of both freight and passenger traffic.

From what I remember, thinking back, the gauge too was 42inch the same as yours. They used a combination of American, British, German, and Japanese equipment too at the time all racing back and forth on multiple tracks.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

Yes, Taiwan ones also uses 42in (1067mm) gauge for its conventional rail lines, and even the basic system of heavy rail operated by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) mainly follows Japanese practices (because the railway network in Taiwan were mainly developed by Japanese people during the reign of Japan prior to 1945), compared to Indonesian ones who closely follows practices taught by Dutch people in former Netherlands East Indies days (though for loading gauge Indonesia is slightly smaller than Taiwan).

Speaking of Indonesian crossings, since 2018 there are some crossings fitted with blinking LED lights on its crossbuck(s) that serves as auxiliary warning light to increase the visibility of the crossing in night time, since the risk of accidents involving road vehicles and trains in the night is higher than during the daytime. One of the example is here at Cianjur Regency in West Java, where a grade crossing is fitted with green-colored LED auxiliary warning light:

The grade crossing itself is located just beside the former Pasirhayam station, closed in 2001 due to low riderships and having its location too near with Cianjur station. Since the crossing is controlled from a rotating handle (officially labeled by Indonesian Railways as "hand generator") with separate switch for siren and warning lights, the operator had to turn on the switch first before operating the handle itself.

Regards,

Arya.

 

[JCitron]

From my observations, I assumed the Japanese had the influence in Taiwan's railways due to their occupation of the island because there are other signs as well all over the island.

We have issues too with people "being stupid" and going around gates as well even while a train is obviously very close to the crossings! For some reason people feel they can beat a train going 100 km/h and not get hit. They don't realize that a train can't stop on a dime as they say and end up getting squished or severely injured.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

You're right, even this problem is a very serious problem in Indonesia, since there are too many people "being stupid" for this one. I recalled there was a video went viral on Facebook among many Indonesian people, where the video shows a motorcycle attempted to cross after a freight train passes when a passenger train from the opposite direction slams into the motorcycle, causing the driver to be injured. The man who recorded the video yelled "you such a crazy and stupid guy!" to the injured driver, since the injury was purely caused by stupidity of the driver. I can't imagine what would happen if the motorcycle had its whole body completely blocks the rail track when the accident happens, though many people are sure that the driver would instantly lost his/her lives.

 

[martinvk]

Many years ago | had an opportunity to visit Ambarawa and see the many preserved locomotives on display. The history of the various railways in Java is fascinating but sadly little known outside of a few enthusiasts. Are there any historical railways offering rides using some of the old equipment? I've seen some videos of the little sugar trains that were still working years ago in a few places. Are they still working?

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

Indonesian Railways currently offers regular steam or diesel-hauled classic tour train using classic coaches from Netherlands East Indies era between Ambarawa and Tuntang stations, as well as steam-hauled only train between Ambarawa and Bedono* stations running through the first half of rack rail section of Ambarawa Line between Jambu and Bedono (unfortunately the remaining second half between Bedono and Gemawang has been in completely disused since the line's closure in 1976 due to low ridership and Mount Merapi's volcanic eruption that destroys Krasak river bridge of the same line at the border of Central Java and Special Region of Yogyakarta provinces).

On the other hand, the city of Solo in Central Java also offered regular steam-hauled classic train services between Purwosari and Solo Kota on the Wonogiri Line, where this section is well-known among many people in Indonesia as the only remaining street running section of a conventional railway line (non-tram) in Indonesia that served by regular passenger trains (the other two are freight-only branches serving state-owned fuel terminals, both in East Java province).

For sugar trains, AFAIK there have been a shift from steam-hauled to diesel-hauled ones in current days, although steam-hauled ones are probably for occasional services only. And yes they are still working, with some of them are still operating in large network like Jatiroto Sugar Factory or Wringin Anom Sugar Factory in East Java.

*the ones between Ambarawa and Bedono requires reservation. For the museum ones, all of them are pre-pandemic ones.

 

[zsuda]

thankz a lot for starting this thread, arya ...
... as i'm born in the dutch-indies in the year it became indonesia and my father and grandfather worked at the staatsspoorwegen on java, i'm in a quest to find historical railroads and rolling stock, especially those locomotives that have historical values for me: ss1401 and the ss1215 ... details and found links you can find on my website perr0nz.nl (page rolling stock) as linked in my signature ... as an aid in the search for other interested members ...

@ martinvk : besides my historical search, i also have the intention to create a new diorama with a sugarcane topic .. in my search i found some links with historical info, a sugar mill report (2014) and some sugar trips ...
- sugar industry - indonesia pdf
- sugar industry indonesia - gbg
- sugar mill report - java
- sugar trips - mas bagus adventure
- sweet steam
... i also have seen other (steam)trips pass by, but didn't gather them ...

i hope i will get more information of my "fatherland" in this thread ...
stay safe and have fun ..
grtz
daveric

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

Aaaahhhhh, I'm very happy to see one of the user who is the direct descendant of the employee of Staatsspoorwegen!

SS1401 (D1401) and SS1215 (DD5107) were unfortunately completely disappeared from this world as they were cut up some years after the abolition of steam by Indonesian Railways in the past, but luckily SS1410 (D1410, the sister of SS1401) who previously was preserved at The Transportation Museum of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah has been in steam again, although it is now under the hands of 6th Operation Region of Java (Daerah Operasi 6 Yogyakarta) as a locomotive for hauling steam tourist train Jaladara between Purwosari and Solo Kota stations.

Of course one of the technological achievements of Staatsspoorwegen in the past was the introduction of Krianinrichtingen, or the Krian-type roundel signal (officially called by Indonesian Railways and the rail fans as "sinyal tebeng tipe Krian") in 1880s that brought a safety improvement of rail operations in their rail network. Currently there are two preserved examples of those Krian-type signals: one is near Garut station, and one from the now-closed Tamanan station of Panarukan line is at Ambarawa museum (the other Krian signals at Panarukan Line, however, are surprisingly still intact as of March 2020, along with the handle for operating the signals, although the line has been closed since 2004). And I've made the illustration of the unique roundel of Krian-type signal using Photoshop:

Regards,

Arya.

 

[martinvk]

thankz a lot for starting this thread, arya ...
... as i'm born in the dutch-indies in the year it became indonesia and my father and grandfather worked at the staatsspoorwegen on java, i'm in a quest to find historical railroads and rolling stock, especially those locomotives that have historical values for me: ss1401 and the ss1215 ... details and found links you can find on my website perr0nz.nl (page rolling stock) as linked in my signature ... as an aid in the search for other interested members ...

...
grtz
daveric

You too!. My grandfather also worked for the staatsspoorwegen, both on Java and Sumatra. Thus my abiding interest in all things rail as they were before the war in the then Dutch East Indies. Two places that were often talked about during family story times were Padang and Djember. Looking forward to reading more stories in this thread.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

Just found an interesting photograph of SS1250 series steam locomotive #SS1258 (post-independence: DD5208) in its early days on Facebook, where an Indonesian rail fan uploaded the photograph that was scanned from the book "De 'Bergkoningin' en de spoorwegen in Nederlands-Indie 1862-1949" by E. Krijthe:

(photograph uploaded to Facebook by Faishal Ammar)

The same locomotive in its post-independence later years, scanned from the book Encyclopedia of Railroads published in 1977:

(photograph uploaded to Facebook by Faishal Ammar)

According to records the locomotive was later moved to Cibatu, but in 1973 the locomotive was in horrible condition: steam leakage and weakening underframes caused the locomotive to be partially not ready for service. In 1950s the locomotive was converted to oil burner, due to inability of Indonesian Railways to pay the coal or wood for fueling the locomotive.

Cheers,

Arya.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

You too!. My grandfather also worked for the staatsspoorwegen, both on Java and Sumatra. Thus my abiding interest in all things rail as they were before the war in the then Dutch East Indies. Two places that were often talked about during family story times were Padang and Djember. Looking forward to reading more stories in this thread.

AAAAHHHHH, another interesting fact! Speaking about Padang, the rack rail 0-10-0 locomotive #116 of Staatsspoorweg ter Sumatra's Westkust (SSS, later becoming the West Sumatra Division of Indonesian Railways) that was renumbered to E1016 in 1940s by Imperial Japanese Army is now preserved at The Transportation Museum of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta, and even I was permitted by one of the museum staff to climb into the locomotive cab. And speaking Jember, the 9th Operation Region of Java in Jember of Indonesian Railways is currently carrying out plans for reactivating the branch line from Kalisat to Panarukan that was closed in 2004 due to aging infrastructures, although it is not clear whether the remaining Krian-type roundel signals would be removed for scrap or preserved in the museum, as one example of former Tamanan Station has been preserved at Ambarawa.

I'm glad to see that another descendant of the former employee of Staatsspoorwegen is here.

Cheers,

Arya.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

Speaking more about railways in Indonesia, here is the video of the departure of long-distance express train Singasari (Pasar Senen - Blitar) from Bekasi station, recorded by myself on February 19th this year. I'm sorry if the video title and its caption are written in Japanese, since the video was originally intended to be shared among Japanese rail fans who are having interest to railways in Indonesia:

The video shows the station dispatcher gives the permission of departure by showing a steel-made stick with green-colored roundel on one of its end to the train conductor, which then responded by the train conductor with a whistle, and ends with the train driver blows the airhorn for a few seconds. This tradition has been existed from the days of Netherlands East Indies for the departure of locomotive-hauled trains, although similar way is also found on local trains on rural lines that uses DMU (commuter trains in Jakarta that uses EMU, however, departs from station with a simpler way by using announcement from station staffs, as the congested train traffic does not allow dispatcher to perform the similar process for EMU ones).

Cheers,

Arya.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

I just found an interesting article related to the history of railways in Indonesia:

https://jalanbaja.wordpress.com/202...hir-soesoehoenan-van-soerakarta-pakubuwana-x/

This article covers the funeral train operated by Nederlandse-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS) from Solo Balapan NIS station*1 to Pasargede station*2 on February 22nd, 1939, for transporting the casket containing the body of Sri Soesoehoenan Pakoeboewana X (the 10th ruler of Surakarta Sunanate) that passed away on the same day to the monarch graveyards at Imogiri (the location of graveyard itself is now part of Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta province). While the article is written in Indonesian language only, I would explain the main formation of funeral train in a simple way:

1. 2 4-6-0 locomotives
2. 3 baggage cars for carrying 700 pieces of wreaths
3. 1 hearse car for carrying the body of Pakoeboewana X, guarded by His Majesty's bodyguards
4. 1 saloon car for carrying VIP
5. 1 combined 1st and 2nd class coach with ventilation
6. 3 combined 1st, 2nd and 3rd class coaches
7. 10 3rd class coaches

Unfortunately only the hearse car that survives until today, with the car itself is now preserved inside the complex of Surakarta Sunanate. The hearse car was cosmetically restored in 1998 with strict privacy and lots of ceremonies by Yogyakarta Locomotive Workshops, as the spirit that resides inside the hearse car refuse to permit the returning of hearse car back to Surakarta (because Pakoeboewana X as "his owner" was buried at Yogyakarta, the spirit want to stay at Yogyakarta to accompanying "his owner"). While the hearse car was originally built with 1435mm wheel axles*3, the original 1435mm wheel axles were modified into 1067mm ones for use in the parade commemorating the 25th anniversary of Indonesian Railways in 1970.


*1: at that time Solo Balapan station has two parts - one was operated by NIS, the other one was by Staatspoorwegen or SS. The NIS side had 1435mm tracks, while SS ones had 1067mm tracks.
*2: Pasargede station was closed due to the forced closure of Ngabean to Pundong line by Imperial Japanese Army in 1943, because the line was marked as "deemed to be not profitable". The rails removed from that line were later reused on lines built by Imperial Japanese Army in both Thailand and Myanmar during the WWII, as well as on Death Railway of Sumatra that stretches between Muaro and Pekanbaru, and the Bayah Line that branches off from Saketi Station on Labuan Line toward Bayah on the southern coast of what is now known as Banten Province.
*3: the hearse car was constructed before the forced regauging of standard gauge lines of former NIS by Imperial Japanese Army to 1067mm gauge. Nevertheless, it survives the war as it was stored inside the Yogyakarta Locomotive Workshops.

Cheers,

Arya.

 

[martinvk]

Recently I came across this Gedenkboek.

Considering its age, it is very well preserved. Even the books from those days were made with quality.

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

From the title it is clear that the gedenkboek was created for commemorating the 50th anniversary of Staatsspoorwegen (SS), which also coincides with the opening of the first electrified railway in the-then Batavia spanning from Tandjoeng Priok to Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara) via Pasar Senen, as well as from Tandjoeng Priok to what is now known as Jakarta Kota. The book also includes one photograph of the famous Cikuda bridge (known among local people as "Jembatan Cincin" or "ring bridge" because of its arch structure) on the Rancaekek - Tanjungsari railway line, but unfortunately the line was forcibly closed in 1942 by Imperial Japanese Army as it was deemed to be "ineconomical for wartime period" (all of the tracks were dismantled, but luckily the bridge still remains until today. In fact, the line is one of the four disused railway lines planned by the Government of West Java province and the Indonesian Railways to be relaid and reopened for rail traffic, along with the already in progress Cikajang Line (Cibatu - Garut - Cikajang), Pangandaran Line (Banjar - Pangandaran - Cijulang) and Ciwidey Line (Bandung - Ciwidey through Cikudapateuh, Dayeuhkolot and Soreang).

One of the interesting fact from that gedenkboek is the inclusion of a 1925 Sumatra railway map, where the still-separated line of Deli Spoorweg Maatschappij (DSM) and Atjeh Tram (AT) that composes the current 1st Regional Division of North Sumatra and Aceh, Staatsspoorwegen ter Sumatra's Westkust (SSS) that later became the current 2nd Regional Division of West Sumatra, and Staatsspoorwegen op Zuid-Sumatra (ZSS) which forms the current 3rd and 4th Regional Division of South Sumatra and Lampung were to be connected by new railway connections that eventually would transform into the Trans-Sumatra Railway. The plan, however, never materialized due to The Malaise and the World War II...

 

[martinvk]

Hmmm, so you also have a copy or is it also available in the local library? Any idea how many of those books were printed?

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

I'm having a digitalized version of the book in PDF format, although it was only for some pages and it was made as a public download (after translated into English) by Mr. Dirk Teeuwen on his site:

http://www.indonesia-dutchcolonialheritage.nl/Special Subjects/Railroads.html/1925GedBoek.pdf

 

[aryadwi_ef641030]

I've decided to share some Google Maps links to locations where the old Krian-type roundel signals formerly used by the now-defunct Panarukan Line still stands in its original places. While those at Sukowono station are presumed to be still intact, however, since there are no Streetview photos for the area around the signal I couldn't confirm the condition of the signals):

1. Tamanan station

https://www.google.com/maps/@-8.011...4!1sB2q_yjg66TTdaFOdWoC3pA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This one is for Kalisat-bound trains, whereas the Panarukan-bound one has been moved to Ambarawa museum in 2014. The current state of the signal (as of November 2019) is shown in the 4th photo of this Instagram post, where the signal's red roundel was found by the owner of that Instagram post in the condition rotated 90 degrees from its original position, but with the vertical semaphore does not rotate at all (the semaphore rotates 45 degrees to the right if signalman gives "clear" aspect, otherwise it shows "caution" aspect if the roundel's red-colored face is not shown toward the driver but with the semaphore stays in vertical condition).

2. Bonosare station

a. Panarukan-bound

https://www.google.com/maps/@-7.889...4!1sOOOISgyeeoz46YoefsmeZQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Currently this is the only Krian-type roundel signal of Panarukan Line that still retains its cross mark dated back from 2004, as the mark was placed by Indonesian Railways for marking the signal as "defunct". The photograph shows that the roundel is in the same condition with the ones at Tamanan station when the photo was taken by Google's Streetview camera.

b. Kalisat-bound

https://www.google.com/maps/@-7.886...4!1slBp-CGMuGmzJuO4LJzSDgw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

This one was photographed in the normal "stop" condition, just like when there are no trains coming to the station. Ironically the first photograph of the same signal taken in 2015 also shows the same condition with the ones at Tamanan station in 2019.

3. Prajekan station

a. Panarukan-bound

https://www.google.com/maps/@-7.812...4!1sM-LM2LNxPXZFz4OfxvKx-A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

While this signal is placed just before a grade crossing, but the signal was hidden under the leaves and branches of a giant jackfruit tree that planted after the closure of Panarukan Line in 2004. Ironically the signal's vertical semaphore is in slightly rotated condition, in contrast to the main roundel that still stays in its "stop" position.

b. Kalisat-bound

https://www.google.com/maps/@-7.800...4!1sLUViHYOHrP12FodnXNb8Ig!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Because the signal was placed a few hundred meters after the crossing (which stands near the former bridge of Prajekan sugarcane railway), I had to zoom the view to give a closer look of the signal.

4. Panarukan station

https://www.google.com/maps/@-7.696...4!1sMn1jQeZWcX8LAMC6N_lnqw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Since the signal stands very close to the National Route #1, of course the Streetview camera could easily take the photograph. Compared to the other example, this one only has the red-colored roundel without vertical semaphore, as this station is the terminus of Panarukan Line.

Regards,

Arya.