Reflection On MRT Jakarta Incident: Public Transportation Not Only Needs Sophisticated, But Also Guaranteed Safe

JAKARTA The MRT Jakarta operation was stopped on Thursday (30/5/2024) afternoon due to the fall of heavy equipment from the construction activities that were tenants carried out in the area of the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

"In connection with the alleged incident of heavy equipment falling from construction activities being carried out in the area of the Attorney General's Office by the Hutama Karya Contractor, the operation of the Jakarta MRT will be temporarily suspended," said Head of the Corporate Secretary Division of PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda) Ahmad Pratomo in a statement in Jakarta.

Luckily, there were no casualties in the incident where heavy equipment fell from construction activities that were being carried out in the area of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) RI.

An eye witness named Nurul admitted that he heard a loud bang when heavy equipment fell on the MRT line.

"The sound was really tight, like a bang, the explosion sounded me," said Nurul, quoting Antara.

In addition, Nurul said that the crane incident had caused sparks on the MRT route.

Although it did not cause any casualties, MRT Jakarta's operations were stopped and only operated again on Friday (31/5) morning. But the incident had a significant impact, especially on passengers. Apart from causing trauma, this incident also had time to make traffic around the incident very congested.

Within two hours, PT Hutama Karya (Persero) as the contractor for the construction project of the Attorney General Mudat Building for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) at the Attorney General's Office has evacuated iron material which is carried out in four stages.

According to initial investigations, this incident was caused by electromagnetic induction that occurred when the MRT train passed and at the same time the power crane was lifting iron material. The induction caused sudden flooding, so that the iron material that was being lifted fell tilted and entered the MRT rail area following the induction current.

Hutama Karya apologized for the inconvenience caused, and has disrupted the operation and comfort of MRT users.

But the Head of the Indonesian Transportation Community Railways Division (MTI) Aditya Dwi Laksana said that the incident of falling iron equipment raised by the AGO's construction project was an alarm that transportation safety really needed attention.

"Not only because of its impact that disrupts the smooth operation of the train, but also at a very large potential for casualties and significant damage to MRT infrastructure," Aditya said when contacted by VOI.

"This incident can actually be prevented and must not be repeated. There must be a Standard Operations Procedure (SOP) for all construction projects in the area around the MRT route," he added.

The cessation of MRT operations due to the fall of cranes from construction activities at the AGO which covered the MRT route from the HI Roundabout to Lebak Bulus, causing many customers to be absent from looking for alternative transportation. Traffic around the area is quite congested, especially during peak hours.

Prospective passengers are forced to divert their mode of transportation, as experienced by Sevtinaisa. He was forced to choose to use an online taxi from Blok M to Sudirman Station.

Hundreds of passengers were also trapped at a number of Transjakarta bus stops. In order to serve a surge in passengers, Transjakarta added 25 buses in Corridor 1 Blok M-Monas so that a total of 101 buses served passengers. In addition, there are additional five other buses on routes that intersect with the MRT track, namely corridors 1E and S21.

Citing the official website of MRT Jakarta, in January 2024, 3,163,357 people used this train service with an average of 102,041 people per day. This figure shows an increase from the average number of passengers in the previous month, which was 98,341 people per day.

"The time to travel, arrival and stop consistently reaches 99.9 percent," said MRT Jakarta's statement.

On Monday's working day Friday, an average of 116,340 people used this service.

Since May 2023, the MRT operating time on weekends has also been increased to start at 05.00 WIB to 00.00 from the previous 06.00 to 00.00.00.

Seeing the high number of MRT users, Aditya also reminded the importance of MRT ensuring that evacuation procedures are simulated intensively, especially for vulnerable group users, including disabilities.

"Emergency operating procedures while still prioritizing safety aspects also need to be established, to avoid stopping MRT operations for a long time," he said.

This incident also shows that MRT users have been massive enough that the impact of the temporary cessation of the MRT operation has had an impact on road traffic congestion along the MRT section, Aditya ending it.