RAILWAYS of INDONESIA

There is no dispute that the first railway line in Indonesia was built between Semarang and Tanggung by the Nederlandsch_Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS). However, the exact location of Semarang’s first station is still subject to controversy. The official view of PTKA (Indonesian Railway Company) is that the first station was located in Kemi(d)jen, and was even called Kemidjen Station. Kemidjen Station in the railway company’s official history book. Other sources, such as Rietsma (1925), Liem (1933), Oegema (1982), van Ballegooien de Jong , (1993) de Bruin (2003), however, make no references of Kemi(d)jen. They all say that the first railway line was between Semarang (Samarang) and Tanggung (Tangoeng). Liem adds that the first NIS station was located near the port, in an area called Tambaksari. The use of the spelling Samarang was common till the 1880s. Thus, it is very likely that the first station in Semarang would also be called Samarang Station. The 1866 map of Semarang s...

It started only as a drizzle on Saturday (7 February 2009) evening, but later in the night it turned into a raging rainstorm. By Sunday morning the city was paralysed as floodwater inundated many parts of the city. The water level in some parts reached 150 centimetres. The airport was closed for all flights and the main roads into Semarang were under 50 centimetres of water. One of the worst hit areas was Tawang Station, Semarang’s main railway station. The tracks were inaccessible, forcing the total closure of the entire northern coast railway line. Trains between Jakarta – Surabaya v.v. had to take the longer southern route - through Solo – muddling up the timetable. By 19.00 on Sunday, however, the line was reopened. This was possible thanks to a plucky little veteran, BB 30024. This shunter plied back and forth between Poncol Station, passing through Tawang Station, and Alastuwa Station in the eastern edge of Semarang, pulling all kinds of passenger and goods trains. At both Ponco...