Indonesia Puts Temporary Halt on High-Speed Railway Project after 2 Workers Died in Accident

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Two people have been killed and four others injured in a derailed incident of a work train of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project on Sunday, Dec. 18, according to an official.

“The Ministry of Transportation expressed our deepest condolences to all workers who were the victims of the high-speed rail project accident,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation Adita Irawati in a statement on Monday, Dec. 19.

Adita said the accident occurred in the Cempaka Mekar area, Padalarang district, West Bandung regency on Sunday.

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She said the ministry’s Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) has deployed its personnel to identify the train derailment, which involved the work train.

“The facility is used for the construction of rail tracks, which will not be used to transport passengers. It belongs to the PT KCIC,” she said, referring to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium responsible for the project.

Gov’t puts temporary halt on high-speed railway project

She said the construction activities for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project will be temporarily halted for further investigation.

Once the investigation has been completed, the relevant parties will report their findings and recommendations, which will be used as references for improving the safety aspects of the railway project development.

“DJKA will ensure that the accident will serve as an important lesson to prevent similar incidents from recurring,” she said.

(Writer: Haryanti Puspa Sari | Editor: Akhdi Martin Pratama)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2022/12/19/151000926/kecelakaan-lokomotif-teknis-kereta-cepat-kemenhub--2-orang-meninggal.