RAILWAYS of INDONESIA

The JakartaKota/Batavia Benedenstad station was officially opened on 8 October 1929. This twelve platform station, at that time hailed as the 'the largest and most beautiful station in Netherlands India', was designed by Asselberghs, Ghijsels, and Hes of the Algemeen Ingenieurs-en Architectenbureau (AIA). It replaced an older station of the Bataviasche Oosterspoorweg Maatschappij (BO.S), which is why even today it is still affectionatelly called 'Beos' ( bay-yoss ) by Jakartans.

Jomblang tram halt, Semarang The first Indonesian city to have an urban tram system was Batavia (now called Jakarta). On 20 April 1869 the first horse drawn tram started to run between Amsterdamsche Poort and Harmonie via Molenvliet. The carriages, operated by the Bataviasche Tramway-Maatschappij (BTM) on the unusual rail gauge of 1188 mm, were built in France by Bonnefond, Ivry. In 1869 the line was extended from Harmonie to Tanah Abang and to Meester Cornelis. Horse drawn tram, Batavia The use of horses as motive power proofed unsuitable in the hot tropical climate of Jakarta. In a given year more than 500 horses had to be replaced; therefore, it was urgently felt that a more reliable motive power had to be found. In 1881 the Nederlandsch-Indische Tramweg-Maatschappij (NITM) was established. NITM took over the lines formerly operated by BTM, and upgraded it into a steam tram system. A NITM steam tram The second city in Indonesia to have an urban tram system was Semarang , while...

After halting passenger service in 2000, the Tanjung Priok Station in North Jakarta will start revamping its tracks by mid March and partially reopen the station for passengers by May. “We will start renovating the 9 kilometers of track to Jakarta’s Kota Station and the 8 km of track to Kemayoran Station by mid March,” said Akhmad Sujadi Jakarta spokesperson for state-owned railroad PT Kereta Api. Akhmad told The Jakarta Post on Saturday the company would also repair 12 broken bridges along those same routes, renovate electrical connections, and upgrade the currently mechanical signaling system into an electrical one. “The revamps are scheduled to partially finish in May, when we will reopen the passenger service by using the revamped tracks connecting Tanjung Priok to the Kota and Kemayoran stations,” Akhmad said. The Tanjung Priok Station will officially re-open May 20. “By the end of this year, the Tanjung Priok station restoration will be fully completed and fully effective for pas...

Recently, the daily newspaper "The Jakarta Post" published an article "Lawang Sewu, a haunted, sad place." Now, after years of neglect and uncertainty, the former Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (Netherlands Indies Railway Company, or NIS) head office is being restored by the I ndonesian Railway Company (PTKA) Regional Office in Semarang. When this building was completed in 1907 it was a very modern building. The architects, J.F. Klinkhamer and B.J. Ouëndag, made a careful study of Semarang’s climatic condition. As a result, they came up with a design which is dominated by galleries (inspired by the front and rear galleries [ voor- en achter galerijen ] of Indies style houses) and louvered doors (in fact, many of them). This is why the people of Semarang affectionately gave the building the nickname “Lawang Sewu” (“The Thousand Doors” in Javanese). Recently, however, the building is more known as a haunted place. This, no doubt, recalls the time when i...

A discussion on the location of Indonesia's first railway station will take place on Wednesday, 18 March 2009, 09.00 - 11. 00, at the Thomas Aquinas Building, Soegijapranata Catholic University Campus, Jalan Pawiyatan Luhur, Bendan Duwur, Semarang. The speakers are Karyadi Baskoro (Indonesian Railway Preservation Society) and A. Kriswandhono (architect-archeologist). Free admittance.

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...