A DAY ON THE TRAIN

Central Java is the second province in Indonesia (besides Jakarta) to have a loop line railway. The route, that stretches for 502 kilometers passes through 21 cities and regencies in Central Java and Yogyakarta, starting from Semarang to Pekalongan, Tegal, Purwokerto, Kroya, Kebumen,  Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and back again to Semarang.

 

Joglosemarkerto was launched in December 2018 by Indonesian Railway Company to accommodate passengers on all these lines in just one trip without having to change trains again. Every day, this train travels about 12 hours and stops at 25 train stations. The opportunity to try this train service finally came in early March 2021. I chose Semarang as my starting point. The documentary approach, with its characteristic spontaneous portraits, has helped me in exploring the realities of this journey. 

 

From the window, I was able to enjoy the expanse of rice fields when the train passed Kebumen and the beautiful scenery of Pantura coast in Batang, as well as the joglo (Java’s traditional house), and teak forests in Grobogan before being stunned at the harsh conditions of commuter life in Yogyakarta-Surakarta, and also the sad condition of the historic stations that started to be neglected.

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This trip was carried out to work on the mid-semester assignment of the Panna Future Talent 2021 program held by the Panna Foto Institute. One train, two provinces, 12 hours of travel time, 25 stops, and more than 500 images that must be re-curated to be presented.