Currently, the station is undergoing development and will feature three levels. After its completion, Manggarai will be the largest railway station in Indonesia; It will not only serve commuter trains, but it will also serve as the starting point for inter-city trains as well as the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link. Hence, the station will replace Gambir as the terminus for most intercity trains in 2025.[3] There will also be a housing complex, a commercial complex, and a 5-star hotel surrounding the station.[4]
The region of Manggarai has already been known since the 17th century. It is the residence and market for slaves from Manggarai, Flores which later developed into Gementee Meester Cornelis. Although the Batavia—Buitenzorg line was built by the Nederlands-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS) in 1873, Manggarai Station was built in 1914 and completed on 1 May 1918.[2]
The construction was not fully finished when it was first opened — World War I in Europe delayed the delivery of certain parts of its roof. Its tracks branched to Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), Tanah Abang, and continued to Bandung. The construction was supervised by Van Grendt, who also designed the railway education school building and official residences for employees around the station area. The first class waiting room has not changed since the 1910s. The station replaced the second Meester Cornelis Station, which was located a few hundred meters to the south.[2][5]
The station witnessed an episode of Indonesian National Revolution, when on 3 January 1946 the extraordinary train (Indonesian: Kereta Luar Biasa or KLB) transported the entourage of President Sukarno to Yogyakarta. Secret preparations were made, including placing of rows of freight carriages on track 1. At around seven o'clock in the evening, the KLB passed very slowly from the direction of Pegangsaan through track 4.[2]
Central station development
A daily commuter line passing the Manggarai station.
On 12 August 2016, PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek together with fans of KRL Commuterline held a discussion on the Manggarai Station development plan. To answer the complaints of passenger queue, which continues to increase every year, the completion of the Cikarang–Manggarai double-double track will be accelerated. In addition, this station will be made multi-storey which can accommodate inter-city trains and commuter trains with their respective tracks and platforms. It is expected to become the central station for the KRL Commuter Line and also the terminus for the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link.[6]
Later, the Directorate General of Railways (Indonesian: Direktorat Jenderal Perkeretaapian or DJKA) of the Ministry of Transportation began renovating the Station in 2017 by adding a new building with a modern minimalist futuristic architecture to three floors. The first floor will include platforms and rails for trains making stops at the station, the second floor will be dedicated for passenger facilities and commercial areas, and the third floor will also function as a train stop, serving the same purpose as the first floor.[7][8] The old station building, a legacy of Staatsspoorwegen, will be maintained because of its status as a cultural heritage. By the completion of the Manggarai Station project as a central station, it is planned that all long and medium-distance inter-city passenger trains that terminate at Gambir Station will be moved to Manggarai Station.[9][10]
To accommodate Soekano–Hatta Airport Rail Link services, its trips which originally only served Sudirman Baru/BNI City—Soekarno-Hatta Airport route was extended to Manggarai; previously it was extended to Bekasi for several months. With the completion of the airport train building, Manggarai Station has officially served the rail link passengers since 5 October 2019.[11]
As an innovation in optimizing its assets, KAI offers a naming rights program. This program was re-run after being last implemented at BNI City Station in 2018 and Metland Telagamurni Station in 2019. Through this program, brands from partners who enter into contracts can be applied to various aspects of KAI media including signage, wayfinding, maps track, to announcements both at the station and on the train.[14]
KAI targets the phase 1 station naming rights program to be completed this year. Therefore, on 20 September 2022, KAI held an Exclusive Meeting Gathering for potential partners at Hotel Mulia, Jakarta. For phase 1, naming rights are offered to Manggarai Station and several other stations in Jakarta, including Pasar Senen, Jatinegara, Tanah Abang, Tebet, Cikini, Sudirman, Juanda, Gondangdia, and Palmerah stations.[15]
Building and layout
The third floor of Manggarai StationThe station concourse on the second floor
Manggarai Station also functions as a storage area for large trains with a train depot. Many executive, business, and economy class trains are stored in this depot before they are sent to Pasar Senen and Gambir Station to begin their journey.
Adjacent to the depot and station building is the Manggarai railway workshop, which is a workshop used for routine maintenance and repair of passenger trains. The Bukit Duri depot is also located near the station, it is used for storing and daily maintenance of various electric trains. This depot initially also kept diesel locomotives, but all of them were moved to depots in Cipinang and Tanah Abang.
Manggarai Station had nine train tracks that were used for EMU stops plus one track each to the Train Affairs Supervisor, Bukit Duri Depot, and Manggarai Railway Workshop. Tracks 1 and 2 are dedicated to trains operating on the Cikarang Line, while tracks 3 and 4 serve as straight routes for inter-city trains and additional stops for Cikarang Line trains. Tracks 5-7 are allocated for trains on the Bogor Line, and tracks 8 and 9 are designated for stops on the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link.
As of 25 September 2021, the first phase of the station's development has been completed. It is in the form of a new multi-storey building that was built on the west side along with the upper tracks consisting of four railway tracks, so that the number of station tracks has increased to thirteen tracks. Simultaneously, the Central Line was renamed to Bogor Line and it was transferred to the upper tracks, which was numbered tracks 10 to 13. Tracks 10 and 11 were turning and straight tracks for KRL Commuterline to Jakarta Kota, while tracks 12 and 13 are straight and turning tracks, respectively, for the KRL Commuterline to Bogor. In addition, access to the platform through the main door on the west side is also integrated with TransJakarta via Manggarai BRT Station.
Since the operation of KRL Commuterline, the station has become increasingly congested, proved by the large number of passengers as well as international franchise restaurants and shop companies that have opened branches here.
After undergoing a major overhaul and renovation, in early 2023 the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA, see above) of Ministry of Transportation installed an embossed accessory letter that reads "I ♡ DJKA" as the final touch, which was also installed at Matraman Station. The installation caused controversy because KRL Commuterline passengers questioned how important it was. The directorate general considers that these accessories only aim to "motivate their employees to work even harder". A member of the Anak Kereta community (frequent passengers of KRL Commuterline) responded to this problem that DJKA only felt like appreciating themselves, while passengers continued to criticize a number of performances that had to be evaluated such as station escalators which often experienced disturbances.[16][17] After receiving harsh criticism, the installation, located on the second floor, were removed on 22 February 2023.[18]
Incidents
On 24 June 2022, a passenger on the KRL Commuterline fell under the platform. It is said that the passenger fell when the passenger was about to enter KRL 5551 on the Cikarang–Kampung Bandan service of Cikarang Loop Line on the platform of tracks 6-7 of Manggarai Station. This triggered panic among all passengers at the station, considering the train was passing when the victim fells. Luckily, the victim survived and was immediately taken to the station health post to be given first aid. After being treated and confirming that the passenger's health is in good condition, the passenger resumed its journey using the train.[19]
On 8 July 2022, two weeks after the previous incident, a child fell under the track of 6 platform at Manggarai Station while boarding the KRL TM 6000 New Livery along with the child's mother and young sister. The child was immediately rescued by the internal security officer (PKD), it was suspected that the child had fallen due to the train's full capacity as a result of the adjustment after the route change.[20]
In popular culture
Manggarai railway station is used as a background on horror movie, Kereta Setan Manggarai and Kereta Hantu Manggarai. Both films are based from an urban legend which circulating in the station.[21]
Gallery
The east entrance of the Manggarai station, 2020
The KRL Commuterline's 205 series at the Manggarai Station
Manggarai Station platforms, 2009
Manggarai Station platforms, 2010
JR East series 205 ex Musashino line number 205-29F stops at Manggarai Station towards Jatinegara via Tanah Abang—Kampung Bandan—Kemayoran
^ as of now only serves intercity trains, not serving Commuterline yet. † for northbound train only (to Kampung Bandan). Southbound (to Jatinegara) trains does not stop here. Strikethrough: closed for all services
Manggarai
Available
Bicycle parking
Available
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