Indonesia charges train driver over crash that killed 16 women
The 37-year-old driver of the long-distance train now faces multiple charges after an investigation found he had hit the brakes too close to the stalled commuter train during the incident which took place near Jakarta in April.
Technicians clear a train carriage from the tracks on Apr 28, 2026, following a fatal collision the previous night between a commuter and a long-distance train in Bekasi, West Java. (Photo: CNA/Wisnu Agung Prasetyo)
JAKARTA: Indonesian police charged a train driver on Tuesday (Sep 29) with allegedly failing to hit the brakes in time to prevent a crash that killed 16 women near Jakarta in April, an official said.
This comes after Indonesian investigators found signal and communication problems were the main cause of the deadly train collision between a commuter train and a long-distance train in Bekasi which killed 16 people and injured 107 others in April, according to a report published on the Transportation Safety Committee’s website.
It was not clear when the report was first released.
The 37-year-old driver of the long-distance train now faces multiple charges after an investigation found he had hit the brakes too close to the stalled commuter train.
"Investigators concluded that the emergency braking action could have been carried out further away," Jakarta police official I Dewa Putu Gede Anom Danujaya told a press conference on Tuesday.
The driver risks up to 12 years in prison if found guilty, said Dewa. He is not under arrest yet.
According to the report on the Transportation Safety Committee’s website, the accident began when an electric taxi reportedly stalled at an unmanned level crossing near the East Bekasi station. At 8.48pm that day, the vehicle was struck by a commuter train travelling from east to west.
Another commuter train travelling in the opposite direction was instructed to remain at East Bekasi station.
A third train - an express service travelling from Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java - slammed into the stationary commuter train, crushing passengers in the packed women-only carriage at the rear.
The report identified a signalling fault between Bekasi and East Bekasi stations, with the long-distance train responding to a green departure signal and 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.
It also took three minutes and 20 seconds for the operation control centre to receive information from the commuter train driver regarding the incident with the taxi, with the control centre staff unable to hear the driver clearly, the report said.
The driver of the long-distance train had not received training in situations which require emergency braking, the report added.
The report also highlighted the poor visibility of signals due to light pollution and damaged windshields.
In the wake of the accident, experts and advocacy groups had called for heightened safety measures. Some suggested there should be separate tracks for express long-distance trains and commuter trains, and sufficient funds allocated to build overpasses to replace level crossings.
A minister sparked a backlash when she suggested moving women-only carriages from the rear and front to the middle of trains, where the women passengers will presumably be more protected.
Netizens questioned if she was implying that men’s lives were less valuable.
Arifah Choiri Fauzi, Indonesia's Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, later apologised and said she had "no intention of disregarding the safety of other passengers”.
