The original building of Padalarang railway station which serves regular train services (right), with its new large building on the background, which serves the Whoosh high-speed train services
The station is located near the Cihaliwung area and Cihaliwung traditional market, on the heart of the capital city of Western Bandung Regency, the Padalarang town.
The station is located on the western side of Bandung Metropolitan area, it is the junction where two railway routes (Cikampek–Padalarang and Manggarai–Padalarang) merged. It previously had a short branchline that goes into Kertas Padalarang paper mill.[4][5]
History
The station under construction (1890-1910)The construction of the roof overcapping of the station
As part of the construction of the Bogor-Bandung–Banjar–Kutoarjo–Yogyakarta railway line, this station plays an important role in the history of railways. The construction of this station was initiated by the Staatsspoorwegen (SS), a railway company belonging to the Dutch East Indies Colonial Government. This station began to fully operate on 17 May 1884, simultaneously with the opening of the Cianjur–Padalarang–Bandung segment of the railway line.[2]
Initially, this station was a stopover point for trains on the Jakarta-Bandung route via Bogor-Sukabumi-Cianjur. Since the operation of the new Cikampek–Padalarang line in 1906,[2] this station began serving trains from Purwakarta. The operation of trains on this line has proven to be able to cut the Jakarta–Bandung train journey and become the flagship of the SS. This train is also named Vlugge, describing the reliability and toughness of this train to challenge the steep terrain on the line. This station is one of the steam locomotive changing points due to the transition of steep, winding terrain with flat terrain on the Padalarang–Bandung segment. Another locomotive changing point is also at Purwakarta Station.[6]
During the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, on 7 March 1942, at 18.00, this station was bombed by the Japanese so that trains could not pass.[7] One of the Dutch named J.C. Bijkerk said in his story that as soon as the route was bombed, the distribution of food to Padalarang for residents and KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) soldiers were disrupted.[8]
There are several stories that are perhaps rarely discussed about this station, such as the route to the Padalarang Paper Factory. Previously, this station was believed to have been used as a stopover for trains transporting straw as a material for making Indonesian banknotes at that time.[4][5]
Building and layout
The platform of the stationThe original station roof overcappingThe Padalarang HSR station building which is built next to the existing Padalarang station
This station has five railway lines with lines 2 and 3 being straight tracks and line 5 having ballast loading and unloading facilities. The section of the path leading to Cilame Station is still a single track, while the section of the path leading to the Gadobangkong Station is a double track.
Currently this station only serves train trips in the direction of Purwakarta–Cikampek and in the direction of Bandung–Banjar. To the west of the station the line forks. Although both are all heading towards Jakarta, the routes differ between the two routes. The path that turns to the right is the route to Purwakarta, while the path that turns slightly to the left is the route to Cianjur–Sukabumi–Bogor.
The route to Cianjur used to serve the Cianjuran train to fill the slot for the Bandung–Bogor route.[9] However, this train service was discontinued in 2013 due to the availability of spare parts for hydraulic diesel locomotives which were scarce and old enough to run, as well as the unavailability of public service obligation subsidies from the Government through the Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia.[10] Currently the route to Cianjur is in the process of reactivation, but for now it only goes to Cipatat first.[11][12]
Since 6 April 1999, the station already uses electric signaling produced by Alstom.[13]
The Padalarang high-speed rail station, built by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) stands on the northwest of the station, which was formerly used as a ballast loading yard.[14] Padalarang Station has been expanded to serve passenger transfers between high-speed trains and regular train services.[15][16][17]
Service is provided for HSR passengers who want to directly travel to downtown Bandung, due to the HSR line does not enter the city area
To ease traffic congestion at the Greater Bandung roads, the Central Government will make Bandung Urban Railway which use electric trains with double tracks line between Padalarang-Cicalengka through Bandung. In November 2011, mapping of Padalarang-Bandung route and feasibility study of Bandung-Cicalengka route have been done by local government.[18]
Supporting transportation
The following is a list of available supporting transportation modes in Padalarang station.[19]
^Sugiana, A; Lee, Key-Seo; Lee, Kang-Soo; Hwang, Kyeong-Hwan; Kwak, Won-Kyu (2015). Study on Interlocking System in Indonesia. 연도한국철도학회 청계학술대회 논문집 (Korean Society for Railway). p. 46. S2CID111703301.
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