Pillars At Manggarai Station Are Criticized Too Large, Ministry Of Transportation: Indeed, Designed To Hold Earthquakes

Illustration of Manggarai Station. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The Directorate General of Railways of the Ministry of Transportation (DJKA Kemenhub) explained that the pillars at Manggarai Station were designed in large sizes to withstand earthquake shocks.

Head of the Jakarta-Banten Regional Railway Engineering Center of the Ministry of Transportation's DJKA, Rode Paulus, said that the pillars at Manggarai Station were indeed adapted to the building.

Its function is to withstand earthquake shocks.

"Regarding the poles, if we study this, it is one of the efforts of the engineer, to ensure that the strength, especially from the earthquake, can accommodate problems in the building. Because Manggarai Station was built with large buildings, the pillars are quite large," he said at the Ngobras event at the Ministry of Transportation, Jakarta, written Tuesday, February 21.

Due to this pillar, Paulus acknowledged that the room at Manggarai Station was quite narrow when there was a passenger movement.

For this reason, Paulus said that his party was studying further regarding the existence or shape of the pillar at Manggarai Station.

We are reviewing whether it might be possible to make it round or what it looks like. We, the construction, frankly, to this day we have not been able to provide it because it must be done by engineer, it must be with technical considerations that ensure the building is safe," he said.

To reduce passenger density at Manggarai Station, Paulus said, an additional ladder will be built at Manggarai Station to unravel passenger movements.

"By building an additional ladder, when someone is near the stairs, there is a choice to go right or left so they don't pass through that point. That's what matters," he explained.

Previously, the Depok-Bogor Line KRL Community criticized the too large pillars at Manggarai Station. The existence of this pillar is considered to hinder and disrupt the passing of passengers.

"The big wind on the Manggarai platform is for transit, up and down is also very, very disturbing to the passenger flow because there is really only one person in the distance," said the community representative.