RAILWAYS of INDONESIA

Semarang, 22 June 1865: NIS 1 - Indonesia’s first locomotive – starts its service Though the first railway line in Indonesia, between Semarang and Tanggung, was only officially opened on 10 August 1867, in 1863 the Netherlands-Indies Railway Company (Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorwegmaatschappij – NIS) had already put orders for two locomotives from Borsig, Berlin. These two locomotives were intended for the Kedungjati – Willem I (Ambarawa) line, which in some parts had gradients of 2.8 percent. At that time Borsig engines were already widely used in the Netherlands. Exactly one year later the two locomotives were ready and sent to Semarang. On 22 June 1865 these two first Indonesian engines were operational, carrying the numbers NIS 1 and NIS 2 respectively. As the tracks were still being constructed, the two engines were enlisted to speed up the work, and at the same time to train the personnel who will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the machines. It should be not

It was to be the greatest exposition ever held in the Netherlands East Indies, an unabashed celebration of colonial supremacy. And the venue was Semarang. As the colonial administrators drew up their plans for the exposition celebrating the centennial of Dutch independence, they hoped the Koloniale Tentoonstelling would draw many visitors and an influx of revenue to the city. New hotels and pensions were opened; car rental companies were set up. The city was galvanized into activity for the grand event. Unfortunately, by the time the exposition opened on August 20, 1914, rumblings of war in Europe, triggered by the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, cast a dark shadow on the event. Due to the tense political situation the patron of the exposition, governor general Idenburg, was unable to attend the opening ceremony. And even though Japan, China, Australia, India, French Indochina and the United States were represented by their respective pavilions, all

Rob Dickinson's Tour, Ambarawa 22 July 2008 Departure, Ambarawa Station Jambu Local children are more than welcome on Rob's tour, unlike most other charter tours on the rack line. The "local coach" was full of them. It was a bit quiter, though, in the "international carriage". Children were also outside the train, chasing it on their "lorry". On the down trip from Bedono the brake rod of the engine snapped. Nothing really serious happened, some people even did not know that there was something wrong. The train eventually stopped after the hand brakes of the coaches were applied till the wheels smoked. But people who had gone off the train to take pictures had to walk down some distance to get back on the train again. My friend Bill Greer said they looked like Napoleon's army retreating from Russia. A few days later, however, it was already repaired. More information: http://www.users.waitrose.com/~jraby/blog1.html http://www.users.waitros

The Jakarta Post, August 21, 2000 SEMARANG (JP): It certainly was not as luxurious as the Venice Simplon Orient Express, nor could it match even a fraction of the speed of the TGV or the Shinkansen . Even by Indonesian standards it was not an impressive train. It was just a slow, third-class train with an antiquated passenger coach that had seen better days and a couple of modified freight cars fitted with benches to accommodate passengers. A 1957 BB 200 class General Motors diesel locomotive pulled the whole affair. It was no wonder then that when the daily Pekalongan to Surakarta Pandanaran passenger train stopped running a couple of months ago, nobody really seemed to notice. Yet despite its obscurity, the Pandanaran claims a certain distinction. The Pandanaran was the last passenger train to travel along Indonesia's historically most important railway line. The Semarang to Surakarta and Yogyakarta (the vorstenlanden , or land of the princes) line was the first ever to

Incredible Indian Railways Indonesian passenger trains only have three classes: economy, business and executives, but in India they have no fewer than eight classes. The most inexpensive class is the Unreserved 2nd Class, the most expensive Air-Conditioned 1st Class (AC1). The Unreserved 2nd Class have simple wooden (or sometimes plastic covered) benches and barred windows to prevent people from entering through them. AC1 coaches have air conditioned compartments, dark tinted windows and carpeted floors. Each compartment contains 2 or 4 beds which during the day are converted into seats. AC1 tickets are seven times costlier than those of Unreserved 2nd Class. Other classes are AC2, AC3, AC Executive Chair Class, AC Chair Class, and 1st Class Sleeper. 1st Class which is similar to AC1 but without the AC is being phased out and therefore not very common anymore. AC3 uppermost tier In Indonesia, we have only one rail gauge , 1067 mm. India has four: 5'6 "(1676 mm), 1000 mm, 2&

Pada 1863 dimulailah pembangunan jalan rel pertama di Indonesia (ketika itu masih disebut Hindia Belanda) antara Semarang dan daerah kerajaan (vorstenlanden) Surakarta dan Yogyakarta, melalui Kedungjati dan Gundih. Yang membangun adalah Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorwegmaatschappij (NIS) yang mendapat konsesi dari pemerintah Hindia Belanda. Salah satu syarat konsesi adalah dibangunnya lintasan cabang ke Ambarawa yang ketika itu adalah salah satu pusat militer kolonial. Pada 1873 seluruh jaringan itu selesai dibangun, Lebar sepur (gauge) yang dipilih adalah 1435 mm, seperti halnya di Eropa. Antara 1898 dan 1907 dibangun lintasan Ambarawa-Secang-Magelang-Yogya dan lintasan cabang Secang-Parakan dengan lebar sepur 1067 mm yang lebih sesuai untuk lintasan yang melalui perbukitan. Bahkan karena curamnya medan yang harus dilalui antara Jambu-Bedono-Gemawang sepanjang hampir 6,5 kilometer diperlukan rel bergerigi. Stasiun Ambarawa (Willem I) yang ada sekarang adalah bangunan kedua yang dibangun