Signal and Communication Failures Blamed for Deadly Bekasi Train Collision
Indonesia's transport safety committee has identified signalling and communication failures as the main cause of an April train collision in Bekasi that killed 16 people.
Indonesian investigators have concluded that signalling and communication failures were the principal cause of a train collision near Jakarta in April that killed 16 people and injured 107, according to a report published by the Transportation Safety Committee.
The crash occurred on the evening of April 27 in Bekasi, just outside the capital, when a commuter train and a long-distance train collided. The report was posted on the committee's website, though it was not immediately clear when it was first made public.
According to the findings, the commuter train had already been involved in an accident with an electric taxi before the collision, which forced it to stop at a crossing. The report identified a signalling fault between Bekasi and Bekasi Timur stations. The long-distance train responded to a green departure signal and was not given any additional warning to slow down.
"The driver did not receive a yellow signal indication informing them that the next signal ahead was showing red," the report said.
Communication problems compounded the situation. It took three minutes and 20 seconds for the operation control centre to receive information from the commuter train driver about the incident with the taxi, and control centre staff were unable to hear the driver clearly.
The report also found that the driver of the long-distance train had not received training in situations requiring emergency braking. It further highlighted poor signal visibility caused by light pollution and damaged windshields.