As part of ongoing efforts to reduce accidents at railway crossings, the Class II Railway Technical Centre (BTP Padang) recently provided technical guidance to 81 railway crossing guards (PJL) working in the BTP Padang area.

In his remarks, Hendrialdi, Head of BTP Padang, expressed his hope that through this training, the crossing guards would take greater responsibility in ensuring the safety of level crossings throughout West Sumatra.

"I hope that the crossing guards, who are responsible for the smooth and safe operation of trains, will perform their duties in the best possible way. With this technical guidance, I am confident that they will gain new knowledge and apply it effectively when on duty at the level crossings," he said.

He further emphasised that the crossing guards are the front line in ensuring safety at level crossings, serving as an extension of the Directorate General of Railways, Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia. As such, it is vital for them to update their knowledge and stay abreast of safety measures for level crossings.

The training, which is conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the quality of crossing guards meets established standards, was supported by Budi Febrian, Coordinator of Personnel Certification at the Directorate of Railway Safety. He stressed that such activities are essential to raise safety awareness, especially considering the high number of accidents at level crossings in West Sumatra.

For comparison, there have been 170 grade crossing accidents in West Sumatra from 2017 to July 2024, despite the total length of active railway tracks being only about 107 kilometres. Data from BTP Padang also shows that many of these accidents occur at unregistered or "illegal" level crossings.

Therefore, in addition to improving the quality of human resources, BTP Padang has also been upgrading railway infrastructure by building, operating, and placing 81 railway crossing guards at 27 crossing points in its jurisdiction since April of last year.

Not stopping there, BTP Padang has also been monitoring and evaluating these crossing points regularly, specifically at 10 crossing points in Padang City, 11 in Padang Pariaman Regency, and 6 in Pariaman City, to ensure compliance with safety standards and regulations.

This initiative is supported by the Directorate of Railway Safety and the Indonesian Land Transportation Polytechnic.