RAILWAYS of INDONESIA

On 29 October 2010 a special train was run from Semarang Tawang Station to Tanggung Station. This 25 kilometer trip along Indonesia's first railway line commemorates the 143th anniversary of railways in Indonesia. Departure from Tawang Station, Semarang. at 07:00 AM Arrival at Tanggung Station, 1 hour 30 minutes later The special train was made up of two coaches (converted GW cement trucks) and a YR truck, hauled by a Krupp D301 diesel engine disguised as NIS 01. NIS, of course, stands for Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NISM), the first railway company in Indonesia that had build the Semarang-Tanggung line. For this trip guests were asked to dress in 'period' costumes. This train will later serve as a tourist train running along the scenic Ambarawa-Tuntang line.

Steam will soon come back to the Ambarawa - Tuntang railway line. The KOMPAS Daily reported that the track along the Rawapening Lake is being improved. Suhardjono, the Ambarawa station master, told the newspaper that 800 crossties (albeit vintage, not new ones) have been installed. Work is also being done to repair the track bed. More work, however, still needs to be done, such as the much needed repair of some of the bridges and culverts. But Suhardjono is optimistic that before the end of 2009 the track would be ready for steam service. The "new" crossties at Ambarawa Station in July 2008. Now they are already in place. (photo: Deddy Herlambang) But, a number of bridges and culverts will need major repair work before any steam train can pass. The beautiful view along the railway is one of its main assets and attractions. The preservation of the the Ambarawa - Tuntang line should include control of development along the track to prevent it from destroying the view. This,...

THE AMBARAWA-BEDONO RAILWAY, CENTRAL JAVA (Excerpt from: Potential railway world heritage sites in Asia and the Pacific , Robert Lee, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur ) Although an archipelago, Indonesia has an extensive railway system on two of its islands, Java and Sumatra. Until the 1980s there was also a small system on the island of Madura, just off the coast of Java near Surabaya. At their peak, there were 6,458 kilometres of railway in the Netherlands Indies. Both Java and Sumatra have mountainous topography difficult for railway construction. In Java, these mountains are mostly volcanos, the saddles between which have needed to be climbed for railways to connect the flatter and generally more productive parts of the island. Railway services in Java have always been intensive, and remain so, which is scarcely surprising given its current population of more than 130 million. Railways were introduced early into Java, the first line - a 26 kilometre section between Kemije...

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...

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 ...