President Jokowi urges transportation minister, governor to avert accidents
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered the transportation minister and Jakarta governor to prevent mishaps at railway crossings to avert incidents such as the Sunday accident at the Muara Agnke railway crossing that killed 17 people.
“The president has ordered us to coordinate with the Jakarta governor. We actually have begun the coordination process since yesterday,” Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan stated at the State Palace here on Monday.
Jonan said he will continue to coordinate with the Jakarta governor on efforts to improve discipline among operators of public vehicles, including the conductors and drivers of Metromini buses.
“We will also discuss how to ensure better management of one-way railroad crossings,” he affirmed.
He explained that the efforts undertaken to improve discipline among the operators of public vehicles will include the mobilization of a joint task force to check, for instance, whether the drivers possessed appropriate driving licenses.
“The health of the drivers, the worthiness of their vehicles, and other related aspects will also be checked,” he noted.
Regarding the problem of one-way railway crossings, the minister suggested that the railway tracks could be in the form of an overpass or underpass.
Jonan urged the Jakarta regional government on Sunday to streamline the handling of operation licenses of the citys Metromini buses following a train-Metromini bus accident that led to the death of 17 people in Jakarta on Sunday morning.
“I called on the Jakarta governor to put in order the handling of operation licenses of Metromini buses. The licenses for the operation of Metromini buses are issued by the governor and not by me,” the minister emphasized.
He clarified that the accident occurred not because it was a one-way crossing but since the driver had broken through the gate.
“Regardless of whether an underpass or flyover is built, breaking through the gate is against the law,” the minister added.
The Sunday morning accident due to the collision between a railway commuter train and a Metromini bus at the Agnke railroad crossing resulted in the death of 17 passengers.
Seventeen dead victims and several injured in the accident at the Muara Agnke railway crossroad on Sunday morning have been taken to several hospitals.
“They have been moved to the Sumber Waras, Atmajaya, Tarakan, Tambora, and Cipto Mangungungkusumo (RSCM) hospitals,” rescue team member Hasan Basri revealed on Sunday.
He said the Metromini bus was crushed under the train after being dragged away for about 200 meters. The driver of the Metromini bus was also killed in the accident.
The wreckage of the Metromini bus has now been retrieved from the accident site, he remarked.
According to witnesses, the collision between the bus serving the Kalideres-Jembatan Lima route and the commuter train heading for Tanah Abang on the Jatinegara-Bogor route occurred as the Metromini bus forced its way to cross the railway gate as it was about to be shut.
The train commuter line spokesperson Eva Chairunisa remarked that the train has been operated in accordance with standard procedures.
