Sunday, October 3, 2010

Who's reponsible for the Train Crash?


On Saturday morning, a train collided with another train in Pemalang, Central Java, killing 36 passengers and injuring many others.

The incident occured when a train i.e Argo Bromo from the capital, Jakarta, plowed into the rear of another train i.e Senja Utama, that was sitting at a station in Pemalang, Central Java, knocking several carriages off the track.

After questioning 9 people including two drivers of both trains, the Police announced that the incident has been caused by human error, and therefore named the driver of the train Argo Bromo as a suspect. Thus, just like in previous trains accidents where only the driver has been deemed to be responsible..

Considering that a train driver does not do his job by himself, but must rely on others outside the train   e.g traffic controller, schedule arranger, train condition inspector, etc. I wonder whether or not it would be better to investigate first all possible aspects that might cause the accident, before blaming anyone.

Related articles :
Indonesia investigates train crash that killed 36 (AP/Google)
Argobromo train machinist named (The Jakarta Post) 

Photo: Courtesy of Koran Baru.

15 comments:

colson said...

A really tragic accident. So many casualties. So many grieving families.

You are absolutely right - a thorough investigation should the circumstances and causes to light. No only I guess to find all those who are responsible, but also to learn lessons to prevent similar accidents in the future.

Unknown said...

Hi Colson,

Similar accidents happened in the past, each time only the drivers, and other low level employees were punished.
So this time there should be a change in method, instead of looking someone to blame, a thorough investigation should be carried out to find out the cause.
If the driver was blamed of sleeping on duty, then should be checked how long how long has he been on duty. If passed, the schedule arranger should be checked. Also maintenance, etc.

Indri said...

Sedih banget ya alo liat musibah, padahal di negara lain udah ngomongin Kereta Tercepat di Dunia oleh Prancis & Jepang trus Amerika mau nyusul jg punya kereta tercepat.

Kita...masih ngurusin kecelakaan mulu. Padahal kalau semua berjalan sebagai mana mestinya, Kereta Api merupakan Solusi dari masalah kemacetan dan kendaraan termurah serta ter-aman.

Murah karena dianggap irit BBM dan Ramah lingkungan karena kalo semua naek kereta polusi dr kemacetan mobil2 nggak ada toh hehehe....

Aman? ...jika...
1. Tidak akan ada kecelakaan,
kalau aja nggak ada yg nyolong besi2 di rel kereta api kita...
dan kalau aja nggak ada human error...lagian knp juga human error? bisa jadi kurang pendidikan perkeretaapian atau....kesejahteraan karyawannya kurang....
2. Tidak ada Copet2 di stasiun hehehe....

gemes yah liatnya....
padahal naik kerata its supposed to be FUN :)

Anonymous said...

When is it ever that anyone is held responsible for anything in Indonesia?

The reluctance to "look too close" at anything on all levels of society here is phenomenal. Wonder why this is so.

Some cultural trait steeped in the Ramelan Joyo Boyo where all one has to do is wait for the Ratu Adil to come and make things right?

Rob Baiton said...

@ Harry...

Why go up the food chain when most people will be satisfied with a low-level employee taking the rap?

Thorough investigation? These things will come to the police one day. But,even the most positive amongst us know that the police are not up to speed on thorough investigations with respect to train crashes.

That said, human error is usually the right call in these kinds of tragic accidents. If the machinist was asleep at the wheel, then he has made an error for which he must be held accountable.

A thorough investigation might reveal some "facts" about the state of play with regards to "how" things are done. But, like anything else it is what happens next as follow-up that is equally, if not more critical, than the investigation itself. Simply, if the facts and any subsequent recommendations are not acted upon, then things will not change and this sort of accident happens again.

@ Unspun...

Ratu Adil? Mate, harsh...ouch! ;)

sawali tuhusetya said...

sungguh menyedihkan tragedi di petarukan, pemalang. sebuah peringatan serius buat semua awak kereta api dan jajarannya agar lebih cermat, waspada, dan hati2, sehingga tak lagi ada korban yang sia2.

Unknown said...

A real tragedy with such a high loss of life.

We had a minor train crash here on the commuter line - father and son were the drivers of the two units.

Edwin's Personal Blog said...

our trains might be worn out and need regenerating. this transportation mode is no longer safe for passengers. just take a good lesson from japan's shinkansen...

TUKANG CoLoNG said...

beberapa oknum dari KA katanya dipecat ya?

Unknown said...

@Indri,
Saya setuju bahwa kereta api adalah solusi bagi kemacetan lalu lintas yang relatif murah, non polutif dan aman.
Karena itu harus benar2 dibenahi manajemennya secara lebih serius dan dikembangkan teknologinya.

@Unspun,
Many cases show that it is very difficult to hold anyone responsible for their jobs due to unclear reasons e.g political interests.
Efforts have been made to improve the situation although the result is still far from satisfying.
But with growing people's control especially from the media, we can hope for more improvements.
Re: Ramalan Joyoboyo, it's only
a myth believed by some people especially elderly Javanese.

@Rob,
I hate to admit that the situation is bad as you said, but with the existence of the KPK, BPK, as well as watch-dogs like Railway Watch, ICW, Police Watch etc, I am quite optimistic that things will improve. We need time for that.

@Sawali,
Memang sangat prihatin karena itu untuk selanjutnya PT. KA perlu kerja extra keras, cerdas dan hati2 untuk cegah terulangnya peristiwa ini.

@Peter,
Yes it is very sad indeed.

@Edwin,
The Japanese Shinsaken bullet train would be a perfect substitute for our future railway system.
But for now, we should improve existing system by increasing quality control, very strict maintenance of train and spare parts, better schedule arrangements, etc.

@TUKANG CoLoNG,
Dengarnya sih demikian. Tapi perkereapian adalah suatu sistem jadi untuk memperbaiki tidak cukup hanya dengan memecat beberapa orang, yang penting harus diselidiki apa penyebab dari kecelakaan. Kalau masinis tidur, harus diselidiki apakah dia sudah kerja terlalu lama, kenapa ? Bagaimana dengan kondisi kereta?
Sparepartnya? dll,.
Setelah itu diketahui baru bisa diperbaiki.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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Mushfique said...

sad incident. Respect to those who lost their lives.

Thorough scrutiny must be undertaken!

Unknown said...

berapa kali diganti pejabat PJKA nya,kalau mental tidak diganti ya rakyat lagi yang jadi bulan bulanan
DInegeri tercinta ini langka orang yang bener2 mencintai tempat yang jelas sudah memberi naungan sejak lahir sampai meninggal..

Kereta tidak membangun tinggal memakai saja tidak pecus...maaf kalau agak kasar..sering berulang masalah ini.nanti ujung2 nya solusinya keretanya diganti nama..seperti kasus kreta EMPU JAYA berganti PROGO,yg tidk menyelesaikan mslsh...dasar otak klenik

Unknown said...

@SEO Consulting,
You are welcome.

@Ibucketbot,
Yes a thorough investigation on everyone and everything related to the accident should be carried out.

@ASPemusik,
Selain penyidikan menyeluruh untuk mengetahui faktors yang menjadi penyebab kecelakaan itu, manajemen PT KA perlu diperbaiki secara menyeluruh. Kalau tidak akan terulang terus.