Petarukan train collision

Petarukan train collision
Date 2 October 2010
Time 03:00 local time[1] (20:00, 1 October UTC.)
Location Petarukan
Coordinates 6°51′36″S 109°20′24″E / 6.86000°S 109.34000°E / -6.86000; 109.34000Coordinates: 6°51′36″S 109°20′24″E / 6.86000°S 109.34000°E / -6.86000; 109.34000
Country Indonesia
Operator PT Kereta Api
Type of incident Rear-end collision
Cause Signalling error[1]
Statistics
Trains 2
Passengers 900 (approx)
Deaths 36[2]
Injuries 50

The Petarukan train collision occurred on 2 October 2010, at Petarukan, in Pemalang Regency of Central Java, Indonesia, when two intercity trains collided with each other. Thirty-six people died as a result of the accident, and 50 people were reported injured.

Accident

At 3:00am local time on 2 October 2010,[1] an Argo Bromo Anggrek executive train travelling from Jakarta to Surabaya ran into the rear of a Senja Utama Semarang business train at Petarukan, Pemalang[3] a city on the north coast of central Java.[4] The Argo Bromo executive train had 336 passengers on board, while the Senja Utama Semarang business train was bound for Semarang and carrying 663 passengers. The location of the crash was at track 4 of Petarukan station. The Argo Bromo Anggrek train was supposed to pass the slower Senja Utama Semarang train (which was waiting to be passed at track 4), on track 3, but it passed a danger signal and eventually rear-ended the waiting train.[3] Three carriages derailed and overturned,[1] 36 people were reported to have been killed and 50 injured,[5] with the death toll expected to rise.[1][6] The accident was the deadliest in Indonesia since the Bintaro train crash on 19 October 1987, which killed 156 people.[7]

Because of this crash, rear-end buffer cars (a baggage car, power car, or an empty passenger coach) were made mandatory for every locomotive-drawn passenger train in Indonesia.

At around the same time, a second crash in Surakarta (Solo) killed a single person when an economy train was grazed in the rear by an express train.[8]

Cause

A spokesman stated that the cause of the accident was a signalling error.[1] Driver error was not ruled out, however.[5]

Reaction

A spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that "The President has instructed a sanction against whoever was responsible for the accident."[9]

Director General of Railway Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation Tunjung Inderawan offered apologies for the two incidents, saying that "I apologize to the families of all the victims of the train accidents."[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Train crash in central Indonesia kills at least 28". BBC News Online. 2 October 2010.
  2. ↑ David Batty (2 October 2010). "Indonesian train crash kills dozens". Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Crew says Argobromo train changes line". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Indonesian train crash kills at least 36". News Observer. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Train crash death toll rises to 43". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  6. ↑ "Many passengers trapped inside train wreckage". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Death toll from train crash hits 33". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "Another train crash kills one". The Jakarta Post. 2 October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  9. ↑ "President orders sanction on those responsible for train accident". ANTARA News. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "Top railway official apologizes for train accidents". ANTARA News. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
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