Urban and Intercity Railways Need to be Separated, Observer Says

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Urban and intercity railways need to be separated to enhance the safety aspect. Yusa Cahya Permana, vice chairman of INSTRAN, a transportation development NGO, made the statement in an interview with RRI Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

Responding to the recent train incident in East Bekasi, Yusa said actually the safety measure is not really different between types of railways across Indonesia. In Jakarta, Commuterline, MRT, and LRT are different urban railways, however sharing the same tracks with Commuterline is the intercity to different cities in Java Island.

Yusa further explained that the urban railways do not have locomotive in front of the train. This makes the whole passenger cabin structure needs to absorb all the shocks.

Meanwhile, the intercity trains haver locomotive in the front. This part absorbs the shock during any crash.

However, regarding the operation, Yusa recomended the tracks between urban and intercity railways to be separated. This is because the intercity trains require high-speed.

"If we talk about the operation, actually, it is recommended to be separated because the intercity requires high speed, usually requires high speed, but less frequency, less stopping," Yusa conveyed.

With high speed and less stops, the intercity train potentially will not stop or reduce speed when passing certain stations. Meanwhile, urban railway stops at every station.

Moreover, Yusa said if the two different operational system are mixed in one railway, an inherent risk might arise. Regarding the latest incident, that might be one factor of many other issues.

According to him, some sections of train in Jakarta have been separated with double tracks. However, the Bekasi-Cikarang line, which included the East Bekasi, is yet to have double track.

"The separation is about the safety, security, and also ensuring its service does not disturb each other, actually," Yusa mentioned.

Earlier on Monday, April 27, 2026, a Jakarta-Surabaya intercity train crashed into a commuterline train at East Bekasi Station. President Prabowo Subianto visited the victims at Bekasi City Hospital on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2026, to ensure their treatment is running optimally.