Ahead Of Christmas And New Year, The Ministry Of Transportation Anticipates The Impact Of Extreme Weather In The Railway Sector

The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) ensures that the railway system is ready to deal with potential floods and landslides due to extreme weather that may occur during the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year (Nataru) holiday periods.

As is known, Indonesia is currently entering the rainy season. Based on BMKG data, the intensity of rain is predicted to increase by 20 percent compared to normal conditions due to the weak La Nina phenomenon.

Some areas in Indonesia such as Java and Sumatra will also enter the peak of the rainy season at the end of December. This means that during the Christmas and New Year (Nataru) homecoming, starting from the time the post starts from December 18 to January 5, 2025, it is in a position towards the peak of the rainy season.

Director General of Railways Risal Wasal admitted that he had prepared anticipatory steps in various areas prone to flooding, landslides to unstable lands.

This was conveyed by Risal during a press conference regarding the implementation of the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year Transportation (Nataru) at the Ministry of Transportation office, Jakarta, Thursday, December 12.

"Not only floods that we monitor. In all areas there are points that are indeed at risk for unstable lands, landslides, floods, and bridges. Everything we pay attention to," he said.

Regarding flood-prone areas, Risal said that one of the concerns of the Directorate General of Railways at the Ministry of Transportation was Semarang, Central Java.

"Regions of flood points are indeed our main concern. Especially in Semarang, which has experienced severe flooding. Our station in Semarang has been submerged up to 1.5 meters in a few hours, and this is our priority to anticipate," said Risal.

Risal revealed that other areas that are also prone to floods and landslides are West Java, Central Java, and East Java. He said these areas were included in the watch list.

In some of these areas, continued Risal, there are a number of points that have a high risk of flooding, unstable land, and landslides.

"For that, we have prepared special monitoring in each Daop through a special monitoring area (Dapsus)," he said.

Risal revealed that a total of 232 regions were monitored intensively to mitigate potential risks that could disrupt train services during the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year holidays.

"In total there are 232 regions that we pay special attention to to to overcome these four problems," he said.

Risal hopes that the various preparations made can minimize the impact of extreme weather on railway operations.

"We ensure the readiness of all parties in dealing with this potential disturbance, so that train travel during the Nataru period remains safe and comfortable for the community," he said.