Railway operations and safety in Indonesia: a descriptive study

Abstract

The Indonesian railways have been growing substantially in the past few years. The development of mass rapid and light rail transit is underway, and more railway networks in various regions will be implemented in the near future. Despite the increased complexity of railway operations, the corresponding safety issues have not been addressed adequately. This study will report railway operations currently in place in Indonesia and, furthermore, describe how they potentially relate to safety. This objective was achieved mainly through a review of secondary data and past studies conducted by the researcher and colleagues. It is concluded here in this report that risks of railway incidents in the future are still present. Efforts to minimize the risks should involve relevant stakeholders, including local government, the ministry of transportation, and rail operator. A systematic database and theoretically sound methodology need to be employed in understanding the root cause of the accidents and as a basis for strategic safety interventions. At the organizational level, a fatigue management system (FMS) needs to be implemented within the larger context of safety system.