Palmerah Station was rebuilt in 2013–2014 and features a new two-storey station building. The old building was preserved and the new building straddles above it.[3]
During the Dutch East Indies era, Palmerah area was one of the sub-districts in Batavia located in a strategic area. Its name originally comes from the red stakes that are located on the roadside in the area, who the locals call them Paal Merah. These stakes are markers for the boundaries of Batavia area towards Buitenzorg. In the past, the Governors General who was in power at the time often passed this road when he wanted to ride a horse-drawn carriage from Batavia to the Bogor Palace.[4]
To make trips from Batavia to Rangkasbitung and Banten area smoother, in the 1890s the Staatsspoorwegen built a railroad line and its stations (including Palmerah Station) that linked Duri to Rangkasbitung, passing through Tanah Abang. This project was completed in 1899, and regular trains were started immediately.[5][6]
1960s-1970s
In the early 1960s, the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK) was built to host the 1962 Asian Games. The construction was also expected to include 2 overpasses: the Jalan Arteria Raya overpass located in Rawa Simprug area, and Inner City Toll Road overpass located in Pejompongan area. To help the delivery and unloading of construction materials, a spur was made from Palmerah Station to GBK construction site. Building materials such as sand, stone, lime, and the like are brought by rail, these materials were taken from the spur near Rawa Buntu Station which leads to the banks of the Cisadane river. The same was constructed at Kebayoran Station; in 1950-60s this station track had a branch towards the warehouse managed by the Ministry of Public Works (PU) to unload materials transported by rail for the Kebayoran Barusatellite city development.[7] The material carriages for the GBK construction were parked at the Palmerah Station yard, which at the time still had a lot of sidings for project needs, and the carriages were shunting to the construction site using the B51 steam locomotive. Also at the time, a spur was built that led to Pejompongan for a drinking water company (PAM) facility construction. Materials for the construction of this facility were brought by rail and unloaded at the construction site. The spur leading to the GBK project was only used during the construction period and was no longer used when the construction was over, until finally it was dismantled at one time and the former railbed becomes Gelora street. The same fate also happened to the spur leading to the PAM project; it was only used during the construction period, closed, and the former railbed area becomes a dense settlement next to Jalan Pejompongan Raya. Some part of the spur was not completely dismantled, but were just covered with earth or asphalt. There are still pieces of rail left in a dense residential alley where the railbed used to be. The remaining pieces of rail were deliberately not dismantled and used by residents as a small bridge to cross a ditch.
The remainings of the PAM spur (from Pejompongan)
The remainings of the PAM spur (from Palmerah)
A steel rail remaining
A steel rail remaining
In the 1960-70s, Palmerah Station had a wide rail yard and quite tracks. It is estimated that there are five railroad tracks to the left of the yard and two dead-end sidings to the right (from the direction of Tanah Abang Station), as well as two passing tracks. The five tracks on the yard's left are used for storing or stabling freight trains, which were also used to store a series of carriages for the GBK construction. Meanwhile, the two dead-end sidings on the right side are used for loading and unloading sand, stone, lime, wood charcoal, and the like. At the time, the B51 steam locomotive, the C300 locomotive, and the BB300 locomotive were used for yard activities at the station yard.
1990s
It is estimated that in the early 1990s the siding rails at Palmerah Station were dismantled because they were no longer needed, leaving only 2 lanes for traffic or crossings. The former railroad tracks were later built into Jalan Tentara Pelajar on both sides of the station, both those that lead to Pejompongan and those that lead towards Rawa Simprug.
In 1992-1994, the Tanah Abang-Serpong line was electrified with French model overhead power line, to support the Serpong Ekspres EMU trip which was touted as the forerunner of the KRL Green Line. It is also estimated that in the early 1990s the station platform was also renovated into a higher platform.[8]
2000s
In the early 2000s, Palmerah Station had two tracks, with track 1 (as a straight track) and track 2 (as a turning track). Since the operation of the double track on the Tanah Abang-Serpong line as of 4 July 2007, the station layout has been overhauled by adding track 2 as a new straight track.[9]
2013-present
Palmerah Station original building, which become a grocery store
In 2013-2015, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation carried out a major renovation of Palmerah Station into two levels, so that the station complex became more spacious and grander. The project costs around Rp36 billion, and was inaugurated on 6 July 2015.[10] Even though Palmerah Station has been renovated, the old station building which is a legacy of the Staatsspoorwegen is still maintained today.
Further arrangement was also made in 2020-2021, to strengthening intermodal integration (especially TransJakarta) and providing access for pedestrians. The arrangement was carried out under PT Moda Integrasi Transportasi Jakarta (MITJ), a joint venture between Jakarta MRT and Kereta Api Indonesia. It was inaugurated on 29 September 2021, along with a similar project in Tebet.[11]
In November 2020, the Jakarta Office of Transportation closed the level crossing near Palmerah Station permanently. One of the goals is to eliminate traffic violations that often occur at the crossing. This was revealed by the head of the Office of Transportation, Syafrin Liputo. He said closing the level crossing was part of the stage 2 of the Palmerah Station arrangement.[12]
Station layout
R02
G
Main building of the station
Platform floor
Side platform, the doors are opened on the right side
^H.M., Zaenuddin (2012). 212 Asal Usul Djakarta Tempo Doeloe. Ufuk Press. as quoted on Maskur, Fatkhul (6 January 2015). "Tahukah Anda Nama Palmerah di Jakarta Barat?" [Did you know the name Palmerah in West Jakarta?]. Bisnis.com. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
^ 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
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