3322041
Tragc.

So how's the story of the Bintaro Tragedy?

3321982
I know.

3321111
Here's the story

Stained Red (Bintaro Tragedy)

Bintaro, 19 October 1987. Two trains full of passengers were on the same track. What happened next is the largest rail accident in the history of Indonesia.

It was morning on the 19th of October in 1987. The morning rush hour had just started in Jakarta. KA (Kereta Api, Indonesian word for train) Number 225 was entering Sudimara Station at 6:45 AM. It departed from Rangkasbitung Station with its destination being Jakarta Kota Station. The train was packed, with passengers riding on the roof of the carriages and on top of the locomotive. The situation at the station was not too good either. The lanes were all filled with Number 225 in the first lane, an Indocement train in the second, and a headless freight.

Number 225 was supposed to pass Number 220 from Kebayoran to Merak. This means Number 220 should have waited as it had a lower priority for departure. The Sudimara stationmaster ordered Number 225 to move into the first lane. Somehow, the driver misunderstood it as "go ahead and continue the journey" and began to move the train.

Five minutes later, the Sudimara stationmaster received a call from an officer from Kebayoran Lama station, saying that Number 220 had departed for Sudimara. Shocked at the revelation that both trains were going to collide, the stationmaster tried to chase Number 225 while waving a red flag. It was all in vain. A switcher boarded the train and tried to get through the train to warn the engineer, a futile attempt as the train was very crowded.

The two trains collided at Km +18.75, creating a huge wreck. Both locomotives, Henschel-built BB303 and BB306 were so badly damaged they're scrapped. The carriages behind each locomotive telescoped into the locomotives themselves, killing most of their occupants. In the end, 139 (or 153 depending on the source) were killed and hundreds more were injured. The accident, Tragedi Bintaro (Bintaro Tragedy) is the largest rail accident in Indonesian history.

The driver and guard of Number 225, the Sudimara stationmaster, and the official at Kebayoran were given prison sentences for the accident.

The accident entered Indonesian popular culture as well. Iwan Fals wrote the song 19/10, which references the date of the accident, not the year 1910. Ebiet G. Ade was inspired by the accident to write "Masih Ada Waktu". A movie based on the accident, titled "Tragedi Bintaro", was released in 1989. There was even a horror movie that is sort of based on the accident titled "Dendam Arwah Rel Bintaro". More specifically, the film was based on stories of haunting from the accident site.

The accident site has been double-tracked since 2007. In addition, Indonesian Railways equipped their trains with radio and the route was equipped with modern signalling technology. However, there was another accident in 2013 where an EMU crashed into a tanker at a railway crossing, killing at least 7 people and injuring 73 more. The accident was dubbed "Tragedi Bintaro II". Its accident site is just a mere 200 meteres from the first accident site...