Accident Prone, 9 Featured Crossings On Bandar Lampung Railways Closed

Illustration of railroad crossings that can be accessed by motorists. (Between-Yulius SW)

A total of nine level crossings on the railway line (KA) in the Bandar Lampung area, which is one of the vulnerable points for traffic accidents, are closed.

Daily Executive of the Public Relations Manager of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Regional Division IV Tanjungkarang Muhammad Reza Fahlepi said the PT KAI Divre IV Tanjungkarang program closed 10 level crossings throughout 2023.

"From the program that was launched in 2023 to July, we have closed nine level crossings. Two of them are two field crossings that are outside the program or unofficial," he said in Bandarlampung, Friday, July 21, quoted by Antara.

Reza said that there were 211 official crossings in the Divre IV Tanjungkarang area, with details of 70 official crossings, and 141 others unofficial.

He continued, the program to close level crossings every year was launched by Divre IV to improve public safety.

"It is recorded that from 2019 to 2023 87 level crossings have been closed," he said.

Reza explained that there are three elements to provide safety at railroad crossings, namely in terms of infrastructure, law enforcement, and culture.

"On the infrastructure side, the government must evaluate the crossing by involving KAI and other related parties on a regular basis," he said.

This, he said, is in accordance with the Railway Law Number 23 of 2017 Article 94 paragraph 2 which reads "The closure of a level crossing as referred to in paragraph (1) is carried out by the Government or the Regional Government". Based on the results of the evaluation, the crossing can be made not in the same field, closed, or even increased safety.

Efforts to close this level of crossings need support from all parties for the sake of mutual safety. The safety of train travel and public road traffic safety is a shared responsibility, so it is not burdensome to only one party," he said.

Meanwhile, in terms of law enforcement, it is necessary to take action for every violator in order to create a deterrent effect and increase the discipline of road users, because it is also stated in the Road Traffic and Transportation Law Article 296.

"In terms of culture, there needs to be awareness from every road user to comply with all existing signs and signs when passing through a level crossing," he said again.

"We urge all people, especially those who carry out traffic activities at level crossings, to further increase traffic awareness by complying with existing regulations, and if there is a traffic accident involving trains, not only violators will suffer losses, but PT KAI will also suffer losses," he said.