Bekasi Accident Reveals a Series of Systemic Problems in the Railway System

JAKARTA - The accident between the commuter line KRL and the Argo Bromo Anggrek train at Bekasi Timur Station, Monday, April 27 evening, is considered to reveal systemic vulnerabilities in the implementation of national railways.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Railway Forum, Deddy Herlambang, assessed that the incident was a serious alarm for the improvement of the railway safety system in Indonesia.

"The train accident on April 27, 2026 at Bekasi Timur Station shows the systemic vulnerability in the implementation of national railways," Deddy said in his statement, Wednesday, April 29.

According to Deddy, this vulnerability is mainly visible in mixed traffic-based heavy traffic, namely a path used together by KRL and long-distance trains. This condition is considered to increase the risk of operational disruptions to accidents.

He encouraged the acceleration of the construction of a double-double track line from Bekasi to Cikarang. This project is considered important to separate the KRL and intercity train travel lines.

With the separation of track or track segregation policy, the safety and smoothness of train travel on busy crossings can be more guaranteed. "Especially for crossings with very heavy train traffic and already overcapacity, the construction of the Bekasi-Cikarang double-double track must be continued immediately," he said.

In addition, Deddy assessed that a thorough audit of the centralized train travel control system (PPKT), especially in monitoring the position and regulating train traffic on the Bekasi-Cikarang line, was needed. He also encouraged the reform of a technology-based safety system through the implementation of automatic train protection (ATP) for intercity trains.

Meanwhile, for urban KRL services, the use of modern signaling systems such as ETCS Level 1 or Level 2 and communication-based train control (CBTC) is considered necessary to be implemented immediately.

According to Deddy, the current national railway safety system tends to be reactive or only repaired after an incident. In fact, the ideal system should be based on risk-based safety management or risk-based safety management.

He also highlighted the lack of integration between the management of railway facilities and infrastructure. He emphasized the importance of improving safer, modern, and integrated facilities and infrastructure between regulators, namely the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) of the Ministry of Transportation, and railway operators, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero).

"There needs to be an increase in national railway facilities and infrastructure that are safer and integrated between regulators, infrastructure owners, and operators," concluded Deddy.