Background and the
Overhead power substation of the Jatinegara Station in 1924|left Before the construction of the station, the area where the current building stood was known as swamp named "Rawa Bangke". Then the region was renamed to
Meester Cornelis. The name was adopted from the calling of the students to a teacher who taught, founded a school, and preached in the area, namely Cornelis Senen. The name was later changed to Jatinegara during the
Japanese occupation because the Japanese did not want a Dutch term. The name Jatinegara means "Negara Sejati" or "True Nation", the name of Prince Jayakarta who first founded the Jatinegara Kaum village. This village was founded after the Dutch destroyed the Sunda Kelapa Palace and is located between Rawamangun and Klender Market.
Early development (1909-2018) Jatinegara station was opened on 15 October 1909 during the Dutch colonial period. It was known then as Meester Cornelis station. The station was designed by S. Snuyff, the head of the department of public work of the Dutch East Indies at that time. Jatinegara station was the main station for the independent municipality of Meester Cornelis (now
Jatinegara, a subdistrict of Jakarta). The station was meant to be the main connection to the east (
Bandung). The town of Meester Cornelis, which is located on both sides of the Ciliwung River, has been an independent municipality since 1935. At first the station was called Rawa Bangke, a term for the swamps located nearby, which apparently also separate the Meester Cornelis NIS station and the other side of the river. Meester Cornelis BOS Station, which operated from the early days of the Batavia–Bekasi railway in 1887, is located further west and has served as the service office for some time. The architect S. Snuyf originally intended to build a large station for trains to Bandung. The hope was that passengers from Weltevreden would choose this station over
Kemayoran Station, then the main SS station, but not permanent. The takeover of the NIS line to Bogor, which was originally cancelled, but still allows for structural improvements and is still being maintained, so the plan is not being considered further. However, the requirement for a wider station is still being felt as Meester will be an important link station as the new link to Weltevreden Station and the existing line to Tanjung Priok via Pasar Senen. The expansion of the City of
Batavia continues to lead directly to Meester Cornelis. This new station is planned to have the characteristics of a Dutch village, but also adapted to the tropics. It seems that the effort has paid off.
Major renovation (2018-present) In connection with the construction of the
Manggarai–
Cikarang doubled-double track, this station was majorly renovated. The new station building with a modern minimalist futuristic architectural style was built to replace the overcapping station left by the
Staatsspoorwegen. The original station building by S. Snuyf has been maintained because it has been designated as a cultural heritage by PT KAI's Architectural Design and Preservation Center Unit. However, for reasons of passenger comfort,
PT KAI and the Directorate General of Railways have provided a
skybridge and
escalator in the new station building. The new station building was fully operational on 17 December 2020. For safety reasons, the Directorate General of Railways ( or DJKA) remodeled the station a bit, such as removing the crossing area between platforms which was previously built while construction was still ongoing. The entrance to the old station building which has been serving passengers for 111 years has been moved to the north side of the new building. == Building and layout ==