Passengers Are Increasingly Piling Up, Manggarai Station Is Considered To Need To Be Improved With Access And Supporting Facilities

Manggarai Station. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) said the government must make thorough preparations before the plan to make Manggarai Station a train center is carried out. This plan must be supported by improving services and supporting facilities.

Head of the Central MTI Advocacy and Community Division, Djoko Setijowarno, said that public concerns regarding the accumulation of passengers at Manggarai Station can be anticipated by changes in the various infrastructures at Manggarai Station.

"With the size of the building, the station is 100 mx 100 m. Of course it is dense, otherwise it is not a modern station. The important thing is that the carrying capacity is adequate both inside the station and outside the station. Currently, Manggarai Station is considered to still have problems in the service infrastructure to consumers," he said in Jakarta, Sunday, June 5.

According to Djoko, Manggarai Station has several problems that have the potential to disrupt its function as a central station. The most pressing problem is the inadequate access to Manggarai Station, namely narrow roads and a crowded, chaotic and disorganized surrounding environment.

"The Tambak and North Manggarai roads are narrow roads. In addition, there are several points of road narrowing that cause congestion. These include the Manggarai underpass tunnel, the drop off area in front of the station and the bridge near the floodgate," he said.

Therefore, said Djoko, if this plan really takes place, the government must solve the problem first. One of them is thinking about the capacity of Manggarai Station.

"Road access and capacity are not much different from Gambir Station. Also parking spaces are necessary for motorized and non-motorized vehicles," he said.

The technical reason for choosing the location is because not only long-distance trains but Manggarai Station are also prepared as a center for airport train crossings and commuter line electric trains (KRL). As a result, the function of Gambir Station will switch to a regular station like other stations crossed by KRL.

According to Djoko, Manggarai Station is a central station whose development is still possible based on the increase in the frequency of the number of train trips, including KRL, long-distance trains and airport trains. With the centralization of Manggarai Station, the bottleneck in the form of headway delays or trains entering the next station will not occur as it is now.

"Right now the bottleneck is when KRL wants to enter Manggarai Station, you have to wait for another train to pass first. Say long-distance trains or freight trains. In the future it won't be like that," he said.

Then, at Gambir Station is also still visible, in the future it will not be long to wait for the electric train. Signal switching or switch over is one of the efforts to manage train traffic inside Manggarai Station.

Later, both KRL, long-distance trains, and airport trains can be centered at Manggarai Station. Because the development of Manggarai Station is indeed designed for development planning if the passenger capacity is getting higher.

"Nevertheless, what needs to be considered is that if Manggarai Station becomes the center of train crossings and stopovers, the access or range needs to be increased," he said.

The way, said Djoko, was to involve the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government. After all, people from Bogor, Depok, Tangerang who use KRL are dominantly working in Jakarta. Provincial Government involvement. DKI Jakarta can be done by clearing land which is currently being used by many residents as a place to live around Manggarai.

In addition, coordination must be with the Ministry of Transportation, BUMN, PT KAI, the provincial government. DKI Jakarta for how to embrace the surrounding community. The development of Manggarai Station is still possible in the next 5-10 years. In fact, it is still possible for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to be built around Manggarai Station.

To become a large station by serving between cities, Manggarai Station does need environmental carrying capacity such as a parking lot. Meanwhile, a lot of land around Manggarai is used by residents.

"To realize Manggarai Station as a central station, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government needs support. Because the Provincial Government also benefits from the existence of the station. DKI Jakarta Provincial Government can build a station that is magnificent and spacious," he explained.

According to Djoko, this land issue is important to be taken seriously because it affects the operational carrying capacity of Manggarai Station itself. On the other hand, it takes extra work to manage the flow of passengers who are so crowded during peak hours and everyone wants to be fast. But change must continue.

"Not only passengers who make adjustments, KRL drivers also make adjustments to changes like today," he said.

For your information, Manggarai Station will later take over the function of stopping and departing long-distance trains between provinces. Gambir Station will be retired from its role as the main train station in the capital city. Gambir Station will be returned to its function as a station serving commuter trains.

However, Manggarai Station will serve not only long-distance trains, but also urban trains (commuters) and airport trains. This integration is needed to make it easier for passengers to switch modes of transportation.