In March 1887, the Batavia–Bekasi section of the railway line was completed by the Bataviasche Oosterspoorweg Maatschappij (BOS).[2] At first, BOS decided to build a railway line from Batavia to Karawang, but what materialized was Batavia–Kedunggedeh (to the west of Karawang). This company had experienced debt problems, so the Staatsspoorwegen chose to purchase the BOS line in 1898.[6] With the purchase of this line, the stations on this line were also improved, namely by replacing the station building with a more permanent building that still carried the Indische style—like the other stations on the SS line at that time—and the line was extended to Karawang, then Cikampek on 27 December 1902.[7]
Bekasi Station is a silent witness to historical events on the banks of the Bekasi River. From this station, Japanese soldier prisoner were tortured in the river on 19 October 1945. The Japanese naval officer, Rear Admiral Maeda, did not accept the torture, but eventually forgave it. To commemorate this historic event, the Kali Bekasi Memorial Monument was established.[8]
To support the operation of the Jabotabek KRL in Bekasi, Perumka built an overhead line substation in September–November 1992. Since then, the Jabotabek KRL began to operate on this line.[1]
Building and layout
Bekasi Station initially had five tracks with track 1 through 4 being straight tracks similar to Depok Station plus additional tracks for loading and unloading coal transport on the southwest side of the emplacement.
In connection with the construction of the quadruple-track railway, PT KAI, KCI (now KAI Commuter), Bekasi City Government, and the Directorate General of Railways decided to renovate this station. In addition, the track layout at this station was overhauled. The new station building carries a modern minimalist concept and is made into a multilevel station like other stations on the Cikarang–Klender route. The characteristics of the Staatsspoorwegen heritage station building are no longer visible due to the impact of the renovations carried out. When the construction of the new station on the south side was completed, the land that used to be the loading and unloading lane for coal transport at this station has been converted into an additional line emplacement for KRL Commuterline and temporarily decommissioned lines 1-3 to continue the construction of the new station building on the north side.
After the construction of the new station on the north side has been completed and the Cakung–Bekasi quadruple-track railway started operations in mid-December 2022, the number of lines at this station was increased to eight. Line 2 is used as a straight track for non-KRL trains heading to Jatinegara, line 3 is used as a straight track for non-KRL trains heading for Cikarang–Cikampek, line 5 is used as a straight line for commuter trains towards Jatinegara, and line 6 is used as a straight line for commuter trains towards Cikarang. Lines 1-3 are used for long-distance passenger train stops, line 4 can be used for both inter-city passenger train stops and commuter train stops, lines 5-7 are used for commuter trains, and line 8 is for train chain parking.[10] The quadruple-track railway line ends to the east of the station, to be precise at a level crossing to the east of the Bekasi River Bridge.
The building currently has an area of 3,600 m² equipped with praying rooms, toilets, escalators, and elevators.[11]
On 1 March 2012, PT KAI has implemented a policy that all long and medium distance inter-city trains do not stop at this station.[12] However, on 1 July 2013, a decree was enacted which allowed several long and medium-distance inter-city trains to disembark passengers at this station.[13]
On 19 June 2018, several travel schedules for the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link had been extended across services so that it reached the Bekasi area.[14] However, the rail link trip was trimmed to its original route, namely from BNI City–Soekarno-Hatta Airport to optimize the service. According to the results of an evaluation conducted by PT Railink, the airport rail link trips when crossing Manggarai Station often experience delays due to constraints on the readiness of the station's infrastructure, which at that time was still in a series of renovations.[15][16]
The following is a list of train services at the Bekasi Station.
^ as of now only serves intercity trains, not serving Commuterline yet. † for northbound train only (to Kampung Bandan). Southbound (to Jatinegara) trains does not stop here. Strikethrough: closed for all services
