Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – The National Police are questioning 11 people in connection with two deadly train crashes in Central Java that left 35 people dead over the weekend.
In the deadlier of the two incidents, an Argo Bromo Anggrek train, traveling from Jakarta to Surabaya, slammed into a stationary Senja Utama train, which was en route to Semarang from Jakarta, about 100 meters west of the Petarukan station near Pemalang, at about 3 a.m. on Saturday.
Ignatius Jonan, president director of state railway company Kerita Api, told the Jakarta Globe that 34 people died in the crash and that 36 others were injured.
About an hour later, a Bima express train collided with a Gaya Baru Malam train near Purwosari station in Solo, killing one Gaya Baru Malam passenger and injuring four others, said Sr. Comr. Joko Erwanto, a spokesman for the Central Java Police.
A National Police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan, said eight people were being questioned in the Petarukan crash but that no one had been named a suspect. Those being questioned are the engineers and assistant engineers of the two trains and four employees at the train station.
However, Tugiman, a lawyer for the engineer of one of the trains involved in the accident, said that police had named his client a suspect.
"Khalik Rusianto, the conductor of the Argo Bromo Anggrek train, has been charged under articles 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code on negligence resulting in death or serious injuries, in conjunction with Article 361 on crimes committed while on duty or working," he said.
Joko said that the engineers of the Bima and Gaya baru Malam trains, as well as one guard at the station, were being questioned in connection with the Purwosari crash.
JA Barata, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that a total of 10 investigators have been dispatched to the two crash sites.
"We have sent seven people to Petarukan and three people to Purwosari to investigate the crashes," Barata said. "We will need at least three months for a thorough investigation."
However, he said it would likely be closer to six months before investigators were ready to hand over their results to the Ministry of Transportation.
"We need to evaluate the facilities, infrastructure, regulations, human factors and any condition that were present that could have caused a crash, such as the weather," Barata said.
Yudi Widiana Adia, a member of House Representatives Commission V, which oversees transportation, told the Globe on Sunday that the commission was unhappy with the work of the Transportation Ministry as well as the service provided by KA.
"We are disappointed with their work, particularly because they have been slow to serve the public," Yudi said.
He said one issue that needed to be looked at was the ministry's collaboration with investors to improve transportation services, which he described as a good plan that had never been properly implemented.
Meanwhile, Ignatius, the president director of KA, said there had been no delays on Sunday as a result of the crashes. "We have not had any problems and all trains are going to their destination cities as scheduled," he said.
Top officials from the Ministry of Transportation and the railway company are scheduled to meet with House Commission V today at 4 p.m., where they are expected to face tough questions over the crashes.
Hermanto Dwiatmoko, the ministry's director of train safety, told the Globe that the number of train accidents had gone down in recent years because of efforts to improve railroad infrastructure and facilities.
"From 2008 to 2009, there was a 20 percent decrease in the number of train accidents in the country," he said.