Jakarta –

A major rail accident occurred in India on Friday, June 2, 2023. Around 288 people were killed and more than 800 people injured in a collision involving a number of train carriages in Odisha state, eastern India. India.

INSTRAN executive director Deddy Herlambang said it was the worst rail accident this century. In his notes, Deddy said the accident could be used as a valuable lesson for rail operations in Indonesia.

The reason for this, according to Deddy, is that the state and technology of Indonesian and Indian railways are also not very different from India.

“Both countries are train users heavy rail conventional, not MRT and LRT, which still use Automation Level 0 (GoA 0) without ATP (Automatic Train Protection),” Deddy Herlambang said in his quoted notes, Monday (5/6/2023).

Deddy said a train accident like the one in India could happen to any country if the GoA standards were still at level 0 or no ATP. In an accident in India, a train derailed and rolled over the tracks and was hit at the same time by an oncoming train from the double track.

According to him, in Indonesia this incident is very dangerous and could have happened on a double rail or on two double rails like the Jatinegara – Bekasi plot.

Deddy said that there are 2 types of crash risk mitigation, namely active and passive mitigation. Active mitigation takes the form of equipment to prevent collisions, for example the application of the ATP system installed in each train.

“In Indonesia, it is very necessary to raise the level of railway safety at least by using ATP, so that if there is any disturbance in the signaling or if there is an obstacle, the railway will stop automatically or manually,” Deddy explained.

Meanwhile, passive mitigation to minimize losses, especially crash fatalities, can be done by making the trains have a crashworthy structure, i.e. a vehicle structure which can protect the passengers.

Focus on fixing KRL

According to Deddy, what is most needed at present is to raise the level of safety in rail services whose operating areas are congested with traffic. For example, like the trains in the Jabodetabek area as there are intercity trains and KRL routes.

“Upgrading the level of safety on the railways can at least be a priority in operating areas with heavy rail traffic such as the Greater Jakarta area, as there are intercity and KRL train journeys” , Deddy said.

Deddy also revealed that the Clearance Disorder Detector (CDD) system is also to start being installed in railway facilities and infrastructure in Indonesia. This system will work if it is hit by a train that has fallen on the other side of the rail, such as a train accident in India.

This CDD was also installed on MRT Jakarta. So if the CDD is hit by a derailing train, the oncoming train will be stopped automatically or manually by the driver.

Watch the video: Causes of fatal train crash in India that claimed 275 lives revealed

(p/eds)