Railway construction began in Java in 1867. The first ride on the Semarang to Tanggung line – the first train link in Java – took place on 10 August of that year. In 1873 the railway line Batavia-Buitenzorg was opened, a route that previously could only be travelled on horseback, by diligence or ‘omnibus’. The train covered the stretch from Batavia to Buitenzorg in ninety minutes. Around 1889 one could travel by train on to Bandung and Yogyakarta, serviceman Coenraad Jacobus Leendertz notes. From there, there were connections to Surakarta, with Semarang also accessible by train now. And from Semarang, trains ran as far as Surabaya. The trains were suited to the tropics, with ‘airy rattan benches or armchairs’ in first and second class: ‘If so wished, the windows can be closed with a glass pane or persienne [shutter].’ While the train driver was assisted by Indonesians, he himself was always European.
1. Tanggung station, lithograph after J.C. Rappard, from: M.T.H. Perelaer, Het kamerlid Van Berkenstein in Nederlandsch-Indië. Leiden 1888-1890. [1803 A 30]
2. Cover of the (undated) publication Staatsspoor en tramwegen op Java. Tarieven Restauratie Rijtuigen. [Collectie M. Piekaar-Petit, H 1471]
3. Photo of a locomotive and personnel of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company (Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij) in Java, around 1880. [KITLV 106159]