''Staatsspoorwegen'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for State Railways, full name: ''Dienst der Staatsspoor- en Tramwegen in Nederlandsch–Indië'' (State Railways and Tramways Service in the Netherlands Indies, ''SS en T''), commonly abbreviated as SS) was a railway company owned by the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

colonial government. The company was one of the companies that were transferred to the present

Kereta Api Indonesia PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (English: Indonesian Railways Company, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is the sole operator of public railways in Indonesia. It is completely state-owned and pays track access charges to the government. ...

after Indonesian independence in 1945. Staatsspoorwegen operated railways in three

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

rails: 1.067 mm (3 ft 6 in), 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) and 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in). The 1,067 mm tracks are for heavy railway lines, while the 750 and 600 mm are only used for tramway lines.

History

According to the ''Verslag der Handelingen van Staten-Generaal'' (Report of the Proceedings of the States General), there are proposals for the connection of two

Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij The ''Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij'' (Dutch East Indies Railway Company), abbreviated NIS, was the railway company in charge of rail transport in Java, Dutch East Indies. The company's headquarters were in Semarang. The railway ...

(NIS) railway lines which are extended to

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

and continued to

Pasuruan Pasuruan ( nl, Pasoeroean) is a city in East Java, Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 186,262 at the 2010 Census and 208,006 at the 2020 Census. It is surrounded by, but administratively separate from, Pasuruan Regency. It is located around ...

, and the route from

Depok en, Starfruit City , motto = ''Pariraca Darma''(Servant of the righteousness) , image_map = Map of West Java highlighting Depok City.svg , mapsize = , map_caption ...

to the eastern region of

Bogor Regency Bogor Regency (Indonesian: ''Kabupaten Bogor'') is a landlocked regency (''kabupaten'') of West Java, Indonesia, south of DKI Jakarta. Covering an area of 2,986.20 km2, it is considered a bedroom community for Jakarta, and was home to 5,4 ...

(Buitenzorg) which is said to be fertile. The proposal was made by Mr. P.P. van Bosse before the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Gener ...

in November 1873 at the same time evaluating two NIS railway lines, namely Batavia-Buitenzorg and Samarang-Vorstenlanden (operating since 21 May 1873). However, NIS has experienced a deficit in capital injection since the operation of the two railway lines that were built. In fact, the company has repeatedly been threatened with bankruptcy. Although

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

was said to be the most advanced island in the Dutch East Indies, access to transportation at that time was still limited because it still used the road mode which was only supported by carts, horse-drawn carriages, and canoes to cross the river. The cost of transportation by these modes is very expensive because agricultural and plantation products sold to big cities are not sold well, because they are no longer hygienic while transportation takes a long time. In the end, with the enactment of ''Staatsblad'' (official gazette) No. 141, at the request of the successors of P.P. van Bosse (Fransen van der Putte and Baron van Goldstein), the colonial government officially intervened to build the railway line and a company was formed which was later known as Staatsspoorwegen Nederlandsch-Indië (Netherlands Indies State Railways). This company was founded on 6 April 1875 based on the enactment.

References

{{reflist Defunct railway companies of Indonesia Dutch East Indies Companies established in 1875 1875 establishments in the Dutch East Indies Companies disestablished in 1942

History

See also

References