Jakarta (22/03) – In order to improve the safety of train travel, the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) of the Ministry of Transportation, through the Directorate of Railway Safety, carried out safety socialisation and a trial plan for closing crossings on the southern side of Pasar Senen Station on Monday (21/03) and Tuesday (22/03).

The activity carried out at the Johar Baru District Building was also attended by regional officials from the Johar Baru District, Pasar Senen District, Central Jakarta Administration City, and representatives of residents affected by the plan to close the level crossing.

The series of socializations was carried out as a follow-up to the previous meeting to accommodate residents' aspirations around the level crossings. In this activity, it was conveyed that solutions for pedestrians and wagon owners who cross level crossings every day had been discussed and would be facilitated.

It was also stated that the main activity carried out at the south side of Pasar Senen Station is to divert four-wheeled vehicles, or more so they can pass through the existing underpass. In this case, traffic regulation around level crossings for alternatives for non-level crossings (underpass/overpass) needs to be carried out considering that it has been mandated in Law Number 23 of 2007 concerning Railways.

Moreover, train trips will also increase after the construction of Manggarai Station is completed and fully operational as a central station. In the future, the speed of opening and closing the rail crossing at the south side of Pasar Senen Station is estimated only to be around 1.5 - 3 minutes. In addition to being dangerous for road users, this will undoubtedly cause congestion around this crossing with six active train lanes.

Even though they have planned to close the level crossing, studies on the best solutions that can be applied to accommodate the aspirations of the residents will continue to be carried out. Therefore, it is hoped that residents can actively participate in submitting suggestions and input so traffic management around the south side of the Pasar Senen Station can be carried out without anyone being harmed.

DJKA Safety Improvement Commitment

Handling level crossings is a form of effort to improve the safety aspect of railways in the context of providing safe, secure and comfortable rail transportation. Therefore, apart from actively conducting socialisation with residents regarding level crossings, DJKA also actively continues to coordinate with all stakeholders, including the ranks of the Regional Government.

One form of coordination carried out by DJKA is by holding a Railway Safety Coordination Meeting (Rakor) with the theme "Collaboration for Handling Safety at Crossings in the Java Region to Support the Action Program of the National Railway Safety Movement". The coordination meeting involving various stakeholders of railway safety was held on Thursday (17/03) at Harris Hotel, Surabaya City.

The Director of Railway Safety, Edi Nursalam, directly led the coordination meeting which was also attended by the Head of the East Java Provincial Transportation Service, the Director of PKNSI at the Ministry of Finance, the Deputy for Facilities and Infrastructure for the Transportation Directorate of Bappenas, the Head of BBPJN East Java - Bali, the East Java Police Director. In addition, this Coordination Meeting was attended by responders consisting of the Head of KNKT, Transportation Observer Djoko Setijowarno, Director of Safety and Security of PT KAI, and Director of Railway Infrastructure represented by the Head of Sub-Directorate of Regional Lines and Buildings.

This coordination meeting was held in a hybrid manner. It was attended by representatives from the Dishub of the Prov Districts/Cities throughout Java and Bali, the Railway Engineering Center within the Directorate General of Railways, Representatives of the KAI Headquarters, DAOP in the Java Island region, and the Technical Directorate of the Directorate General of Railways. Around 147 participants attended in person, while 46 participants attended virtually.

In his remarks, Edi said that this Coordination Meeting was held to realize a synergistic collaboration between the Central Government and Regional Governments in dealing with problems in level crossings. "With this meeting, we collaborate to find the best solution in handling level crossings, and we hope that the Regional Government can participate in this," said Edi.

Edi revealed that with the Minister of Transportation Regulation No. 94 of 2018 concerning Improving the Safety of Level Crossing Between Railroads and Roads, the Regional Government has the authority to manage level crossings in its territory. "Therefore, through the authority given by the Central Government, we hope that the Regency / City Government can participate in managing level crossings to reduce the risk of accidents at level crossings," said Edi.

One of the achievements of this Coordination Meeting is the formulation of targets that have been prepared by the drafting team of the Railway Safety Coordination Meeting. The Formulating Team consists of Dr. Ir. Haris Muhammadun, IPU, Assoc. Prof. Ir. Sri Atmaja P. Rosyidi, ST., ASEAN Eng., Dedi Herlambang, S.T., Rika Nuraini, ST., M.Eng.Env., and Ratika Tulus Wahyuhana, ST., MT.

The important points that were successfully formulated by the team included the commitment to a collaboration of all stakeholders in handling level crossings; mass movements became the seeds for handling crossings in the Java region, creating creative budgeting for handling level crossings so that the financial burden becomes lighter, regulatory strategies, adjustments and synchronisation in regulatory review and strategic issues.

Edi also explained that there are still approximately 2.700 level crossings that are not maintained and not managed properly, so they become accident-prone points that have often claimed victims. "We also emphasize to the Regency/City Government in managing level crossings that they must evaluate to see whether the level crossings are still feasible to be passed by the community and do not endanger traffic or train operations, to improve safety at level crossings and train operational safety can be carried out better", concluded Edi. (JM/HJA)