INDONESIA: Tourists enjoy steam train ride in Central Java

Record ID: 553193

  • Title: INDONESIA: Tourists enjoy steam train ride in Central Java
  • Date: 7th March 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) TOURIST GALUH FAJAR, SAYING: "I like the scenery and most importantly, we get to travel as a group on this train ride." CHIMNEY TRAIN PULLING AWAY VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEE ADDING WOOD TO THE BURNER VARIOUS OF TRAIN DRIVER LOOKING AT TRACKS VARIOUS OF RAILWAY TRACKS TRAIN PASSING BY TOURIST TAKING PICTURE FROM WINDOW'S TRAIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST YOSEF DJAKABABA SAYING: "The opportunity to ride an old train like this is unforgettable and I think this is one of a kind. Not many old trains with track available anymore in Indonesia." CHILDREN LOOKING OUT OF THE TRAIN CARRIAGE SIGN WITH TRAIN'S SPECIFICATION PEOPLE SITTING IN TRAIN SIGN READS "IT TAKES ONLY ONE HOUR BUT THE MEMORY OF YOUR RAILWAY MOUNTAIN TOUR WILL LAST FOREVER" SCENERY TOURISTS TAKING PICTURES TRAIN MOVING ON HILLSIDE TOURISTS GETTING OFF (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) HEAD OF AMBARAWA TRAIN STATION EKO MULYANTO SAYING: "Our problems with these old train are spare parts and teakwoods. We have been doing cannibalism practice where we took spare parts from broken trains. For teakwoods, in this rainy season it is difficult to get dry woods."
  • Embargoed: 22nd March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Travel / Tourism,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA3WJUZR8SOZMHRJ1VRE2H0M2MX
  • Story Text: This locomotive museum do not just display old trains, but visitors can actually ride on them.
    As an old steam train slowly pull away from the platform, people quickly look for seats to settle themselves in for the one hour ride.
    The Bedono train station was built in 1837 and now houses a museum while continue to serve visitors wanting to ride the trains.
    With thick smoke pouring out of its chimney when the crew added more wood to the fire, the steam train creates a hissing sound while travelling on the tracks.
    Passengers enjoyed the 10 kilometres unique adventure.
    "I like the scenery and most importantly, we get to travel as a group on this train ride," said Galuh Fajar.
    The German-made locomotive pushed the cars up the mountain and the funicular system began to operate. Funicular system prevents it from derailing when it climbs steep rail.
    The Ambarawa-Bedono trip has no regular schedule and is only operated on request.
    Train Company, a state-owned company who runs this train, charge $350 U.S. dollars for a two-hour train trip with two carriages that can accommodate 80 passengers.
    Javanese landscape of paddy fields, volcanoes and running streams are a common sight during the trip.
    "The opportunity to ride an old train like this is unforgettable and I think this is one of a kind. Not many old trains with track available anymore in Indonesia," said Yosef Djakababa, another passenger on the train.
    Maintaining the old locomotive is challenging as suitable materials are harder to find nowadays.
    "Our problems with these old train are spare parts and teakwoods. We have been doing cannibalism practice where we took spare parts from broken trains. For teakwoods, in this rainy season it is difficult to get dry woods," said Eko Mulyanto, head of Ambarawa train station. He added the teakwood came from an official supplier and have made sure they are not illegal.
    Mulyanto said he had to limit the 103 year-old train operation to only twice a day, due to teakwoods supplies.
    In Ambarawa station, 40 kilometres from Central Java capital, Semarang, tourists also can see some non-operating steam trains and locomotives.
    Mulyanto said more than 400 tourists took mountain steam train ride each month and 250 of them are foreign tourists from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.
    "Friends of Museum" community, a group of history enthusiasts have organised the trip for four times so far and planned to have more in the future as more members are signing up for the journey.
    "We are history enthusiasts, and today we taught our members how the old train worked. We took the members to see train tracks in Java that stirred up the economy in the old days," said head of the group, Ade Purnama.
    This railway system, built by a private company, the Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS), was to improve transportation between the port of Semarang and the agricultural spots of Central Java.
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