This is a continuation of my post on June 3rd. My thanks once again go to Faris Fadhli, who kindly sent me the recent photo.
On April 22nd, a ceremony was held in Jakarta to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Indonesia’s electric railways. Many special trains, such as the old electric locomotive “Bonbon,” were operated in the Jakarta area. Along with Bonbon, “JALITA” also stood out that day.
So, what is JALITA? It’s a special commuter trainset named by Indonesia’s Minister of Transport in 2009 to mark the establishment of the new commuter railway company in the Jakarta metropolitan area. It had a unique tri-toned front design (red, black, and silver; see the top photo). There are differing opinions on the origin of the name JALITA. One explanation is that it stands for “Jalur Lingkar Jakarta” in Indonesian, which means “Jakarta Loop Line.” Another is that it stands for “Jalan Jalan Lintas Jakarta” in Indonesian, which means “strolling on the Jakarta line.” According to a Japanese railfan blogger living in Jakarta, “Pakuan Kyuko (Pakuan Express),” the latter explanation is correct.
Incidentally, the original JALITA was Trainset 8613 of the ex-Tokyu 8500 series EMU (hereafter 8613F). 8613F was transferred from Japan to Indonesia as a second-hand train in 2009 and was repainted in 2013. It has already been retired from service in Indonesia, but this time the last surviving set of the ex-Tokyu 8500 series, namely Trainset 8618 (hereafter 8618F), was repainted in JALITA colors. You can also see what 8618F looked like 16 years ago in the photo below.
JALITA… welcome back.
