Manggarai railway station

Pembuka

Manggarai Station (MRI) is a railway station complex at Manggarai, Tebet, South Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. At present, it serves primarily as a transit station for KRL Commuterline's Bogor Line and Cikarang Loop Line, the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link, and the Jakarta LRT as well in a separated building connected via skybridge (though the connection bridge is not finished yet). As one of Jakarta's main transit stations, Manggarai has become increasingly congested on rush hours.

To the west of the main KRL Commuterline station building is the Manggarai LRT station of the Jakarta LRT system towards Kelapa Gading, which is the current terminus for phase 1B before an extension to Dukuh Atas is built.

To the south of the main building is the Manggarai Railway Workshop (Balai Yasa Manggarai), which is used for routine maintenance and repair of passenger trains. It also functions as a storage area for large trains with a train depot. Many executive, business, and economy class trains are stored in this depot before they are sent to and stations to begin their journey. The Bukit Duri depot is located southeast of the station, used for storing and daily maintenance of various EMUs for the Commuterline system. This depot initially also kept diesel locomotives, but all of them were moved to another depot in Cipinang, East Jakarta.

Currently, the main KRL Commuterline station is undergoing massive upgrade into a large three-storey central station. After its completion, Manggarai will be the largest railway station in Indonesia, and will replace Gambir as the terminus for most intercity trains. There will also be a housing complex, a commercial complex, central business district and a 5-star hotel surrounding the station.

20th century

The region of Manggarai has already been known since the 17th century. It is the residence and market for slaves from Manggarai, Flores which later developed into Gemeente Meester Cornelis. Although the Batavia—Buitenzorg line was built by the Nederlands-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS) in 1873, Manggarai Station was built in 1914 and completed on 1 May 1918.

The construction was not fully finished when it was first opened — World War I in Europe delayed the delivery of certain parts of its roof. Its tracks branched to Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), Tanah Abang, and continued to Bandung. The construction was supervised by Van Grendt, who also designed the railway education school building and official residences for employees around the station area. The first class waiting room has not changed since the 1910s. The station replaced the second Meester Cornelis Station, which was located a few hundred meters to the south.

The station witnessed an episode of Indonesian National Revolution, when on 3 January 1946 the extraordinary train ( or KLB) transported the entourage of President Sukarno to Yogyakarta. Secret preparations were made, including placing of rows of freight carriages on track 1. At around seven o'clock in the evening, the KLB passed very slowly from the direction of Pegangsaan through track 4.

Jakarta LRT

On 30 October 2023, the Jakarta LRT phase 1B officially broke ground as an extension of the existing Kelapa Gading–Velodrome route to Manggarai. Construction finished by mid-August 2026. The LRT extension to Manggarai, as well as Manggarai LRT station itself was originally set to be opened on 26 August 2026, but was ultimately postponed until further notice, citing unfinished facilities including the transfer skybridge from the main KRL Commuterline station and Transjakarta BRT station. On 16 September 2026, Manggarai LRT station and the LRT line extension was inaugurared by President Prabowo Subianto.

Building and layout

The Manggarai Station main building has three floors: the first includes the lower platforms and rails for trains making stops at the station, the second floor is dedicated for passenger amenities and commercial areas, and the third floor is function as the upper platform, serving the same purpose as the first one. The building is built in a modern and minimalist design; it has curved-shaped roof, with glass cellings and facade to optimize natural lighting from the sunlight. The original building on the east since 1918 is retained as a cultural heritage. The heritage building is designed by Dutch architect J. van Gendt in the New Indies style (Nieuwe Indische Bouwstijl), a fusion between 20th-century European modernism and Indonesian vernacular architecture.

Manggarai Station had nine train tracks that were used for EMU stops plus one track each to the Train Affairs Supervisor, Bukit Duri Depot, and Manggarai Railway Workshop. Tracks 1 and 2 are dedicated to trains operating on the Cikarang Line, while tracks 3 and 4 serve as straight routes for inter-city trains and additional stops for Cikarang Line trains. Tracks 5-7 are allocated for trains on the Bogor Line, and tracks 8 and 9 are designated for stops on the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link.

As of 25 September 2021, the first phase of the station's development has been completed. It is in the form of a new multi-storey building that was built on the west side along with the upper tracks consisting of four railway tracks, so that the number of station tracks has increased to thirteen tracks. Simultaneously, the Central Line was renamed to Bogor Line and it was transferred to the upper tracks, which was numbered tracks 10 to 13. Tracks 10 and 11 were turning and straight tracks for KRL Commuterline to , while tracks 12 and 13 are straight and turning tracks, respectively, for the KRL Commuterline to Bogor. In addition, access to the platform through the main door on the west side is also integrated with Transjakarta via Manggarai BRT Station. As of 20 December 2023, inter-platform level crossing has been permanently closed and the heritage building returned to serve as the east ticket counter for KRL passengers.

Jakarta LRT station

Manggarai's LRT station is built separated and is located 300 meters from the western entrance of the main station building. It lies further west from the Manggarai bus station and straddled above a three-way junction. It is an elevated station with two side platforms and a concourse below. A direct connection to the LRT station through a skybridge passing through the bus terminal is currently under construction.

In popular culture

Manggarai railway station is used as a background on horror movie, Kereta Setan Manggarai and Kereta Hantu Manggarai. Both films are based from an urban legend which circulating in the station.