Construction of the Semarang-Vorstenlanden railway line begins

1864

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Caption Bahasa Indonesia

Situation of the construction of the Semarang-Kedoeng Djati railway line on 17 June 1864.

Source: KITLV, 1864

The construction of the Semarang-Vorstenlanden (Surakarta and Yogyakarta) railway line began on 17 June 1864; from Kemijen to Tangoeng (Tanggung Halte), then continued with the construction of the Tangoeng Halte railway line to Kedungjati Station. The Semarang - Kedungjati line segment has a total length of 55.5 kilometres, and was the first railway segment built in the Dutch East Indies. The construction of the NIS railway line began with the symbolic ceremony of scooping up the soil in Tambaksari, Kemijen by the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Messr. Baron Sloet van de Beele.

10 August 1867 - The first 40.24 km from Semarang to Halte Tanggung was inaugurated and opened for public transportation.

July 1868 - The entire first section of the Semarang-Vorstenlanden (Semarang-Kedungjati) lines is in service.

Previous sequence of events:

1842 - J. C. Baud, a de Minister van Kolonien (Minister of Colonies) came up with the idea of transporting products, goods, and commodities from Semarang to Kedu from Vorstenlanden in Java and vice versa, with the construction of an iron railway as the main line of iron wagons pulled by buffaloes, oxen and horses, without using mechanical traction. The idea was considered irrelevant and inefficient due to its enormous cost and took approximately 20 years to complete.

1861 - In August, namely W. Poolman, A. Fraser, and E. H. Kool applied to the government for a concession to build and operate a steam railway from Semarang to Vorstenlanden (Surakarta and Yogyakarta).

1862 - Precisely on 28 August 1862, the concession application was submitted by W. Poolman, A. Fraser, and E.H., Kool to build the 203-kilometre Semarang-Vorstenlanden railway network. The Semarang-Vorstenlanden line was a development priority in Java at that time. This is because along the Semarang-Vorstenlanden route are plantation and agricultural areas.

27 August 1863 - The Netherlands Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NIS) was established to develop the 203-kilometre Semarang-Vorstenlanden railway network and manage the railway line. The Semarang-Vorstenlanden line was a priority for railway development in Java at the time because it was a plantation and agricultural area with a relatively dense population.