BTW: Retraining the nation
When did you last see a newspaper photo of young men sitting
on the roof of an Indonesian train?
It used to be a standard image, an editor’s pick to
illustrate an ill-disciplined transport system.
Here was visual proof that the bureaucracy couldn’t cope, as
iconic as today’s snaps of rivers polluted with plastic showing indifference to
the environment.
A few years ago an official with the Government’s rail
network Kereta Api Indonesia told bemused reporters that all attempts to
dissuade kids from climbing on carriages, from shouting to hosing, didn’t work.
Yet something eventually did, because the only men now seen
on train roofs are crews refilling water tanks.
Other changes have shunted in, mainly without an air-horn
blast. Farewellers now have to kiss and
cry outside; platforms are for passengers only. There’s space to move and seats to relax.
Barriers have been built and soft entry points policed.
Indonesia isn’t China where all tracks are fenced and trespassers pursued, but
it’s now more difficult to jump the rattler.
Asongan, the itinerant sellers of everything a
prepared traveler doesn’t need and who used to prowl the aisles looking for
lonely handbags, have also been railroaded.
The seat allocated is the one you get. Confusion is rare. So
is trash. No smoking. Much rolling stock is old and basic but it’s kept clean
in and out.
Most surprising of all – the trains leave on time.
Veteran Australian journalist Frank Palmos, who lived in
Jakarta in the early 1960s, tells of waiting hours for trains. When one arrived as scheduled, Frank
congratulated the driver.
‘Don’t say that,’ the official replied. ‘This is yesterday’s
train.’
KAI no longer tolerates jam karet (rubber time); it’s
being run more like a good airline. Maybe that needs rephrasing: a few airlines
should study the train system for ideas on efficiency.
How did these wonders come to pass? Presumably management determination and
sustained administrative will.
Your correspondent is no covert operative for KAI paid to
promote, but an ordinary sore-back user.
Several thousand kilometers in economy and executive class
criss-crossing Java are his qualification to clap – and boo.
Slow check-ins create queues of anxious passengers as too
few staff squint at ID cards and tickets.
There are too many baton-carrying guards looking for trouble where none
exists. These might help create a sense
of security, but seem to be overkill – probably not the best word to use.
Maybe they’re needed when soccer hooligans think following
the beautiful game is an excuse for ugly behavior. However incidents are rare and linked to finals, not everyday
travel.
By contrast, the stationmasters with their chic French Gendarmerie caps do look reassuring.
Journeys still take too long compared with overseas, though
to be fair many delays are caused by infrastructure program track work.
Annoyance at an unexpected stop is softened when the cause
is seen – a new bridge and extra rails so the future iron horses can gallop
past each other without one having to shrink into a siding. Workers appear
busy; stacks of white concrete sleepers have little time to doze before being
laid to rest.
Stations are being renovated and fresh ones built, but
engineers have yet to fix the detraining problem; staff who forget to push up
steps force the lithe to jump down a meter while the aged sit and slide. Awkward.
Embarrassing. Dangerous.
Next hassle: How to
get off the platform. Pedestrian
overpasses are rare – some terminals like Malang, have underground
tunnels. Pulling luggage up a steep
ramp needs a pre-travel gym course.
The alternative is to cross the rails. Forty-ton locomotives hauling ten times
their weight shouldn’t share the same space as parents pushing prams and
praying the plastic wheels don’t get jammed in steel points.
Eventually all journeys end; the security of the station
yields to chaos beyond. Hustlers
evicted by KAI haven’t dispersed – they’ve just regrouped outside the exits.
Taxi touts, illegal porters, peddlers, beggars, all looking
to score a few rupiah from tired travelers. It’s time to check money belts, get
a vice-like grip on the valise.
Memo KAI: Please send your managers to Pamong Praja,
the local government public order squads who are supposed to keep sidewalks
clear. Tell them how you shook the guys
off the train tops. Duncan Graham
First published in The Jakarta Post 5 January 2019
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