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Jakarta & Banyuwangi. The country’s much-derided railway system took a huge hit on Monday when a fire gutted 20 train cars outside Jakarta, while in East Java, floodwaters washed away part of a railway bridge moments before a passenger train was due to cross it.

The fire occurred early Monday at Rangkasbitung Station in Banten, on the outskirts of Jakarta, and was believed to have been sparked by a candle left unattended by a homeless person.

No casualties were reported in the fire, which began at 1:45 a.m. and was extinguished by 4:20 a.m.

Only three cars of the affected express train, which serves the Jakarta-Rangkasbitung route, were left intact.

The train was allowed back into operation at 6 a.m., but as a result of the delay and the shortage of cars, thousands of would-be commuters were left stranded during rush hour.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi has called on the police to investigate the fire, which he said was likely a case of arson.

“I believe the fire may have been set deliberately,” he said on Monday. “If not, why would that many train cars have gone up in flames?”

The fire reportedly began not long after the train cars had been cleaned and prepped for the regularly scheduled morning commute to Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta.

Homeless people are known to sleep in the empty cars overnight, which Freddy called “not so good in terms of security.”

The minister said his office was still calculating the losses incurred from the incident.

Authorities at Rangkasbitung would not comment on the incident, saying only that authorities in Jakarta were dealing with it.

Meanwhile, flash floods on Sunday night washed away a section of a railway bridge in Banyuwangi, East Java.

No casualties were reported in the incident, although a passenger train leaving from Banyuwangi Baru Station was just “meters away” from crossing the bridge when it happened, witnesses say.

The Pandanwangi train, headed for Kalibaru subdistrict, was forced to stop before the bridge and head back to the station. The bridge overlooks a 50-meter-drop to the Sumberan River below.

Ahmad Subandi, a resident, said the incident occurred following several hours of heavy rain.

“At about 8 p.m. I heard a rumbling sound, and then a section of the bridge collapsed,” he said.

“Parts of it that broke up and fell into the river were then swept away and sent crashing into a musholla [small prayer house] further downstream.”

The damage to the bridge has cut off both Banyuwangi Baru and Argopuro stations from the rail line, said Mohammad Sofwan Hadi, the head of Banyuwangi’s Karangasem Station.

“All trains previously leaving from those stations will now leave from Karangasem,” he said.

Burhani Sulthon, a spokesman for railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia’s regional office, said repairs to the bridge would take at least three days, weather permitting.

“We’ve been working to fix it since the incident occurred on Sunday night,” he said.

He added the bridge, built in 1985, was still in good condition, and blamed the collapse on the flash flooding rather than on structural wear and tear.

Both the fire and the bridge collapse come on the heels of the Oct. 2 train crash in Pemalang, Central Java, in which 34 people were killed and 36 injured.

Police investigating that incident have since arrested the driver of one of the two trains involved as well as a railway official on charges of negligence.

The accident has raised concerns about the state of the country’s railway system, in particular the issue of train safety.


Additional reporting from Antara