All about railways in Indonesia (beware of HD pics)

Intersting - Firefox won't display them, but Edge will... weird.
Looks like there is something wrong with your Firefox, because my Firefox show those images well...

Continuing historical facts about railways in Inspectie Afdeeling 1 (primary predecessor of Daerah Operasi 1 Jakarta), there is an interesting story about today's Matraman station :

lossy-page1-1024px-Viaduct_Matraman_in_Meester_Cornelis_te_Batavia_vanuit_het_zuiden%2C_KITLV_34673.tiff.jpg


As the above photo (originally archived by KITLV) shows, the stairs and roof located on the currently still in rebuilding existing track is the stopplaats (?) Kebon Pala that serves as the de facto predecessor of today's Matraman station, likely viewed from the northern side of viaduct. Unfortunately I can't predict the exact location of former stopplaats Kebon Pala, as the viaduct itself has been lengthened to accommodate additional lanes for Jalan Matraman Raya (Matraman main street), which completely erased the presence of its remnants today.

On the other hand, the stoomtram of Nederlands-Indische Tramweg Maatschappij or NITM were also captured in the same photo. According to the date (which is 1920s), I'm sure that this photo was taken few years before the electrification of former NITM lines by BVM or Bataviasche Verkeersmaatschappij (a product of amalgamation of BETM a.k.a Batavia Elektrische Tramweg Maatschappij and NITM, later nationalized after independence as PPD or Perum Pengangkutan Djakarta).
 
Looks like there is something wrong with your Firefox, because my Firefox show those images well...

Continuing historical facts about railways in Inspectie Afdeeling 1 (primary predecessor of Daerah Operasi 1 Jakarta), there is an interesting story about today's Matraman station :

lossy-page1-1024px-Viaduct_Matraman_in_Meester_Cornelis_te_Batavia_vanuit_het_zuiden%2C_KITLV_34673.tiff.jpg


As the above photo (originally archived by KITLV) shows, the stairs and roof located on the currently still in rebuilding existing track is the stopplaats (?) Kebon Pala that serves as the de facto predecessor of today's Matraman station, likely viewed from the northern side of viaduct. Unfortunately I can't predict the exact location of former stopplaats Kebon Pala, as the viaduct itself has been lengthened to accommodate additional lanes for Jalan Matraman Raya (Matraman main street), which completely erased the presence of its remnants today.

On the other hand, the stoomtram of Nederlands-Indische Tramweg Maatschappij or NITM were also captured in the same photo. According to the date (which is 1920s), I'm sure that this photo was taken few years before the electrification of former NITM lines by BVM or Bataviasche Verkeersmaatschappij (a product of amalgamation of BETM a.k.a Batavia Elektrische Tramweg Maatschappij and NITM, later nationalized after independence as PPD or Perum Pengangkutan Djakarta).
There is also a station called "Amsterdamsche poort" or "Kota intan" between Bandan and Angke station. There is no photos and documentations of the station during the operational days. A railfan and historian "Mr Maybi Prabowo" later found out the exact location of the station. The remains of station's original architecture is still in shape. Sadly, Mr Maybi passed away due to auto immune sickness he suffered in 2023.

Still, to this day, i can not find the photos of Amsterdamche poort during operational days. It remains a mystery to all of us how the station operates.

If you google it, you only find photos of Amsterdamsche poort station owned by private tram network (NITM). Well it is not far from there but still, it is not SS Amsterdamsche poort.
 
Sorry to be slightly OT, but generally showing or not showing of posted images relates to permissions available at the source of the images.
 
There is also a station called "Amsterdamsche poort" or "Kota intan" between Bandan and Angke station. There is no photos and documentations of the station during the operational days. A railfan and historian "Mr Maybi Prabowo" later found out the exact location of the station. The remains of station's original architecture is still in shape. Sadly, Mr Maybi passed away due to auto immune sickness he suffered in 2023.

Still, to this day, i can not find the photos of Amsterdamche poort during operational days. It remains a mystery to all of us how the station operates.

If you google it, you only find photos of Amsterdamsche poort station owned by private tram network (NITM). Well it is not far from there but still, it is not SS Amsterdamsche poort.
It is also the same for the 1st generation Tanjung Priok station, though having slightly different story after the station was officially replaced by the present 2nd generation building : while the 1st generation station building was presumed to be demolished some times after work on the expansion of Tanjung Priok sea port started, but I thought that it is located around here, if referencing to the aerial photo shown in page #16 of Staatsspoor -en Tramwegen in Nederlandsch-Indië (6 April 1875 - 6 April 1925) booklet.
 
From the documents and sites provided by Mr. Daveric, I found an interesting thing :

In 1920 the railway line from Angke directly took a turn toward Batavia-Zuid (which is technically the predecessor of Batavia-Benedenstad a.k.a Jakarta Kota), instead of the current route that went a bit north and running along the famous Jembatan Kota Intan before entering Kampung Bandan station. But unfortunately the trace of original right-of-way had been already disappeared from satellite photographs, since everything around Batavia-Benedenstad changed a lot after the opening of new station.

And in this evening, I brought you an unfortunate news from South Sumatra division (former Staatsspoorwegen op Zuid-Sumatra or ZSS) :

GICxGUVa8AAG0tA


March 7th, 2024 became a tragic day for South Sumatra Division, after a launching gantry crane for erecting concrete girder at the site of Bantaian overpass construction project went collapsed at 11.00 AM (West Indonesia time), hitting middle part of train #3051 (empty coal train heading back to Tanjung Enim Baru) running under the construction site and causing a number of coal gondolas went derailed and suffered serious damages. Due to this, train traffic between Prabumulih and Muara Enim became completely interrupted, but luckily there are no serious fatalities from this accident, as the direct victim is train #3051. Had the launching gantry and concrete girder collapsed when train #S9 (Lubuklinggau-bound "Serelo", normally running behind train #3051) passes there, there would be lots of fatalities...
 
From the documents and sites provided by Mr. Daveric, I found an interesting thing :

In 1920 the railway line from Angke directly took a turn toward Batavia-Zuid (which is technically the predecessor of Batavia-Benedenstad a.k.a Jakarta Kota), instead of the current route that went a bit north and running along the famous Jembatan Kota Intan before entering Kampung Bandan station. But unfortunately the trace of original right-of-way had been already disappeared from satellite photographs, since everything around Batavia-Benedenstad changed a lot after the opening of new station.

And in this evening, I brought you an unfortunate news from South Sumatra division (former Staatsspoorwegen op Zuid-Sumatra or ZSS) :

GICxGUVa8AAG0tA


March 7th, 2024 became a tragic day for South Sumatra Division, after a launching gantry crane for erecting concrete girder at the site of Bantaian overpass construction project went collapsed at 11.00 AM (West Indonesia time), hitting middle part of train #3051 (empty coal train heading back to Tanjung Enim Baru) running under the construction site and causing a number of coal gondolas went derailed and suffered serious damages. Due to this, train traffic between Prabumulih and Muara Enim became completely interrupted, but luckily there are no serious fatalities from this accident, as the direct victim is train #3051. Had the launching gantry and concrete girder collapsed when train #S9 (Lubuklinggau-bound "Serelo", normally running behind train #3051) passes there, there would be lots of fatalities...
it seems that vibrations from a passing train caused the girder to collapse. Moreover, the girder construction was problematic from the start.
 
it seems that vibrations from a passing train caused the girder to collapse. Moreover, the girder construction was problematic from the start.
It is certain that a procedural error in planning closure time for erecting girder itself became the centermost part of this accident, although no fatalities is still a better thing than having tons of fatalities (had the train that passes the construction site was the #S9, not #3051).
 
Beautiful Kuro !

Are they the same as thoses which were used in Netherlands ?

Cheers,

Philippe
The signal model is generally the same.

In Netherlands, this signal model was used by NS in 1923 - 1932.
Therefore, the regulations are different with those used in Indonesia, for example Hoodfsein (Entry Signal) in NS, lower arm indicates next signal aspect. Whereas in Indonesia, the lower arm indicates speed limit (30kph) and train track turning sign (diverge).

In my opinion, Indonesian version is simpler than the NS ones.
 
The signal model is generally the same.

In Netherlands, this signal model was used by NS in 1923 - 1932.
Therefore, the regulations are different with those used in Indonesia, for example Hoodfsein (Entry Signal) in NS, lower arm indicates next signal aspect. Whereas in Indonesia, the lower arm indicates speed limit (30kph) and train track turning sign (diverge).

In my opinion, Indonesian version is simpler than the NS ones.
Another difference is the ones used in Indonesia are largely having only one starting signal (sinyal keluar), except at large stations like Malang, Blitar, Sidoarjo, Pulubrayan etc (as of March 2024).

Regarding shunt signals, I don't know what design used by NS for those of mechanical signal type, but in Indonesia the type is "X-letter" ones (which comes from the fact that if a train is permitted to perform shunting movement the signal would show "X" shape) :

Semboyan_6B_PD3.jpg


The "a" portion refers to mechanical signal ones.
 
A bit long time after not posting a new thing in this thread, I decided to share this video to everyone who wants to see how engineers of Indonesian Railways doing their job :


This video was taken on board CC206 62 of Yogyakarta depot, seen here pulling intercity train "Wijayakusuma" that operates daily between Ketapang station[*1] (Banyuwangi regency) and Cilacap station (Cilacap regency), with current timetable lists this train as "train #117" for upward train (Ketapang - Cilacap), and "train #118" for downward (Cilacap - Ketapang). While the video only covers between Ketapang and Rogojampi station, but it shows the work of a train engineer and his assistant during their duty, to the point that they followed the same pointing-and-calling practice done by train engineer in Japan (of which this practice has been adopted by Indonesian Railways sometimes between 2016 and 2019).

I remember that a railway-focused YouTube content creator made a complain about why all engineers of Indonesian Railways frequently blow the horn even during the night time (for overnight trains); in fact, this practice is still performed by Indonesian Railways to ensure that everyone who about to cross or around the track is fully aware that a train would passes there, thus taking refuge to safer place.

-----------------------------------------------

[*1] Ketapang station is located just a few hundred meters to the west of Ketapang Ferry Port that serves as gateway to the famous Bali island from Java
 
A bit long time after not posting a new thing in this thread, I decided to share this video to everyone who wants to see how engineers of Indonesian Railways doing their job :


This video was taken on board CC206 62 of Yogyakarta depot, seen here pulling intercity train "Wijayakusuma" that operates daily between Ketapang station[*1] (Banyuwangi regency) and Cilacap station (Cilacap regency), with current timetable lists this train as "train #117" for upward train (Ketapang - Cilacap), and "train #118" for downward (Cilacap - Ketapang). While the video only covers between Ketapang and Rogojampi station, but it shows the work of a train engineer and his assistant during their duty, to the point that they followed the same pointing-and-calling practice done by train engineer in Japan (of which this practice has been adopted by Indonesian Railways sometimes between 2016 and 2019).

I remember that a railway-focused YouTube content creator made a complain about why all engineers of Indonesian Railways frequently blow the horn even during the night time (for overnight trains); in fact, this practice is still performed by Indonesian Railways to ensure that everyone who about to cross or around the track is fully aware that a train would passes there, thus taking refuge to safer place.

-----------------------------------------------

[*1] Ketapang station is located just a few hundred meters to the west of Ketapang Ferry Port that serves as gateway to the famous Bali island from Java
Thank you so much for this video. I had almost tears in my eyes. I have lived and worked for seven years in Klakah, where this train stops too. I really have very fond memories of the Indonesian Railway. On a train back from Yogyakarta to Klakah we had a very nice conversation with the security and the conductor of that train. We couldn't believe what happened before we arrived in Klakah. The announcement for Klakah was in English, especially for us :-)
I love this country!

Mick!

P.S.: Do you have by any chance footage of Klakah?
 
Thank you so much for this video. I had almost tears in my eyes. I have lived and worked for seven years in Klakah, where this train stops too. I really have very fond memories of the Indonesian Railway. On a train back from Yogyakarta to Klakah we had a very nice conversation with the security and the conductor of that train. We couldn't believe what happened before we arrived in Klakah. The announcement for Klakah was in English, especially for us :)
I love this country!

Mick!

P.S.: Do you have by any chance footage of Klakah?
Not a new footage, but here we go :


This video was taken by the late Mr. Maybi Prabowo (he passed away about a year ago due to sickness), with the train featured in this video was the "Mutiara Timur" (currently not in operation, since the trainset was borrowed by "Blambangan Ekspres", itself could be regarded as an extension of "Mutiara Timur" to Semarang Tawang station). 😁

Regarding Klakah station, the station itself was previously a junction station, with the now-defunct Lumajang Line (Klakah to Rambipuji via Lumajang station) diverges to the south. 😅

EDIT : another footage, this time newer one :


This include the "Pandalungan" train that now also stops at Klakah station, and currently holding the record as "the only train that directly connects Jakarta with Jember". 😁
 
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Another videos related to Indonesian rail topics :

[1]


This video was uploaded by official account of a kindergarten in Bekasi city, where they conducted an official visit to Bekasi station (in cooperation with KAI Commuter) in order to let children know about how to use public transportation (in this case commuter train) in right manner, with the main attraction is taking a ride from Bekasi to Cikarang and returning back. IMHO this is very important for raising future generation that has proper manners in public transportation, since up this day there are still many Indonesians who lacks them, like attempting to getting ahead of a queue at ticket gate, throwing litter inside train, etc.

[2]


While I would say that the pointing-and-calling procedure had became a standard in Indonesian Railways (including KAI Commuter) due to partnership with East Japan Railway Company (JR East), unfortunately it is still a largely unknown topic in other countries (even including Nederlands that once colonized Indonesia as Nederlands-Indië) due to lack of people who willingly transmits such positive informations to international community.

[3]


A Youtuber from America tried the Compartment Suite coach on the Gambir-bound "Argo Semeru" express train (pulled by CC206 26 of Yogyakarta depot at the time of filming), where he stated that "you only need to spent 100$ for a more than just a first class experience". Since this coach is currently only available on both "Argo Semeru" and "Bima", I don't know whether the fleet would be expanded in the near future or not, since it is actually modified from ordinary Executive class coaches (at this time all 5 units are modified from K1-085xx series coaches, manufactured by state-owned INKA in 2008), rather than purpose-built coaches built from scratch.
 

This video is a vlog about newly opened first phase section of Trans-Sulawesi Railway (Mandai - Palanro), with the uploader (a railfan that is also a YouTuber) rode the train from Maros station to Garongkong station (located on the Garongkong branch). Interestingly this line is the first heavy rail line (not a passenger-only LRT nor MRT line) in Indonesia to be owned and operated jointly by different institutions, with the infrastructure is owned by General Directorate of Railway (under Ministry of Transportation) and managed by Celebes Railway Indonesia, and the trains are operated by state-owned Indonesian Railways (currently under the direct management of Surabaya Railway Bureau a.k.a Daerah Operasi 8 Surabaya) along with support from locally-owned Sulsel Citra Indonesia.

Another unique fact about this line is the presence of 2 branch lines in a single line, which are the following :

1. Mangilu branch - diverges from Labakkang station and terminates at Mangilu station, located a bit northeast from Semen Tonasa's main cement plant (likely to be connected with a freight siding track)
2. Garongkong branch - diverges from Barru station and terminates at Garongkong station, which is situated just in front of Garongkong sea port
 
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