In this era, PJKA continues to experience decline due to the increasing number of private car users, public transportation and the emergence of
Ojek. Therefore, the government issued an annual
subsidy. This subsidy is formatted for employee expenses and reducing PJKA's loss burden. and the gradual closure of all of the total
branch lines at that time. The
Bintaro Tragedy on 19 October 1987 was a tragic event that worsened the bad image of PJKA as the only railway operator in Indonesia. In this tragedy, hundreds of people died while the rest were injured. Since that tragedy, the safety and comfort of its trains have been questioned. And since it occurred right smack in Greater Jakarta - in particular in the PJKA's commuter network, it was also a trigger towards more ground breaking efforts at railway reform. At the time of the incident a feasibility study was underway that would lead to the conversion of some of its electric tracks from ground level to elevated, in an effort to avoid the massive flooding that has been characteristic of the capital during the monsoon season. That elevated section, from Gambir to just south of Jakarta Kota, was opened in 1992.
90s era until now 05 (CC201 77 04) when it had the Perumka logo and before being transferred On 1 August 1990, PJKA was rebranded again to
Perusahaan Umum Kereta Api (
Perumka, Indonesian Railways Public Corporation LLC). During this period, with Permuka now a Public Corporation, losses such as those experienced by PJKA several years ago, especially during the dieselization of the remaining steam powered lines, could be reduced. All employees still have the status of civil servants who are regulated separately and are allowed to seek profit. The Perumka era is often called the
"red and blue era" because all the paint on commercially operated locomotives was changed to red and blue with a white Perumka logo on the front and back, and under the
driver's cabin glass right above the
license plate. In addition, the
livery paint of all passenger train carriages was also changed, namely for executives it was painted light blue-dark blue, business cars dark green-dark blue, economy cars dark red-dark blue, and the generator and baggage cars plain dark blue. All the passenger train cars of the period including those Indonesian made, regardless of liveries, had white lines with a red Perumka logo on them. It was also the beginning of an era of Perumka operated commuter expresses in Jakarta across both the electric-powered and diesel powered network alike, ensuring fast services for its clientelle of passengers, only to end in 2011. In 1995, the Argo series executive express train was born with two charter trains named
Argo Bromo and
Argo Gede, debuting on July 31 as part of the festivities for the 50th Golden Jubilee Year of Indonesian Independence and the Golden Jubilee of Permuka, with its consist made of an all-Indonesian made executive car design, inclusive of a dining car, manufactured for both trains by INKA in its Madiun factory. All of the first generation Argo executive trains were painted white-gray with dark blue stripes with the PT KAI logo on the left and the Ministry of Transportation insignia on the right. In addition, the
CC 203 locomotive was also imported directly from the USA's GE Transportation facilities. This locomotive has an
aerodynamic design. As a result of the presence of these two Argo trains, there was a change in the color scheme, with the executive and business class cars on other trains painted with the same livery pattern as the Argo class but with a cream-white color. In 1996, a 3rd Argo express train, the
Argo Lawu, debuted serving the Jakarta-Surakarta route. In 1997, as part of the 130th birthday of the Perumka network, the
Argo Bromo Anggrek debuted on the same route as the Argo Bromo but sporting a pink-white livery on its consist instead of the white-gray of the original
Argo Bromo that it now replaced. Meanwhile, the economy cars were actually painted white-turquoise green, but in the end only the Rheostatic EMUs operating economy class trips and some Jakarta Commuter DMUs were painted with this color scheme, while other economy cars especially on express and semi-express services outside of the Argo series were still comfortable with the red-blue livery from before 1995. The previously mentioned livery was also added with two stripes, one of which was light blue and the other dark blue.
Limited company era In 1998, Perumka officially changed to
PT Kereta Api (Persero (
PT KA, Indonesian Railway Corporation JSC), although the
notaryation of its establishment was carried out the following year. In the early 1990s and 2000s, PT KA maintained the red-blue paint livery on its locomotives, except for the CC 203s. At the time, PT KAI was reeling from the effects of the
1997 Asian financial crisis that led to a political crisis in Indonesia itself, with Suharto replaced by his vice president, B.J. Habbie, who had previously worked with INKA's aerospace counterpart Indonesian Aerospace and was one of those responsible for the manufacture and successful runs of the 1995 Argo series trainsets. The newly rebranded railway had debuted two new
Argo class executive long-distance trains that year to show its resiliency and resistance to the effects of the crisis - the
Argo Dwipangga (then the
Dwipangga), which debuted a modern long-distance service on the Jakarta to Yogyakarta run, and the
Argo Wilis on the Bandung-Surabaya Gubeng route, with both trains using an improved trainset manufactured by INKA applying lessons learned on the first three modern express trains. Some of the cars through on both sets were modernized sets from the past years also with INKA assistance, ensuring that a mix of past and present would inspire railway passengers on the history of the passenger trains and of the whole PT KA network in particular. During the onset of the crisis, the
Argo Mulia plying the Jakarta-Semarang route serving Central Java, also with a mix of the consists as those that came later, had its first trips in Christmas 1997. Beginning 2006, CC 201 and most other locomotives then changed their paint schemes to be like the CC 203, namely white with light blue-dark blue stripes. Meanwhile, there were changes to the entire series of passenger cars ranging from executive, business, and economy, to what can be seen today. PJKA's
historic livery began to be used again for certain diesel locomotives designated heritage, which later expanded to even more locomotives, given that this livery began during the DKARI/PNKA eras of Indonesian railways and even before that with the Greater Jakarta commuter network. During this period, PT KA introduced the PSO (
public service obligation) system, especially for its economy class trainsets. As one of the mass transportation models used by millions of people, the development of railways in Indonesia is inseparable from the spotlight and weaknesses. Factors that are often of concern today are
the accident rate is still relatively high both derailed carriages, collisions between trains, collisions between trains and other vehicles, floods/landslides and other problems often faced by train users. The main cause of this problem can be seen in the uneven rail facilities and maintenance, resulting in various problems. In 2009, it was recorded that 255 people were victims of train accidents, either injured or killed. Around 60% of train accidents occur at railroad crossings, which generally do not have gates or even guarded. Of the 2,923 railway crossing gates spread across the island of Java, it was recorded that around 1,192 were not guarded by officers. This means that 40% of crossings escape the supervision of PT KAI which is fully responsible for ensuring traffic safety and security as stated in Law Number 23 of 2007, articles 31, 32, 33, 34 and 124 which have been ratified by the legislature.
Addition of new lines Since 2015, the government has planned to improve railway infrastructure in Indonesia by adding new lines, reactivating inactive lines and also making double tracks, not only in the Java corridor, but also in other corridors such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. The following is the development of railway networks outside Java from the 2015–2019 Railway Strategic Program:
Sumatra Island Corridor Construction of Inter-City Railways/Trans Sumatra: • New Bireun-Lhokseumawe-Langsa-Besitang railway line • New Rantauprapat-Duri-Dumai railway line • New Duri-Pekanbaru railway line •
New Pekanbaru-Muaro railway line • New Pekabaru-Jambi-Palembang railway line • New Simpang-Tanjung Api-Api railway line • Double track Prabumulih-Kertapati railway • Double track Baturaja-Martapura • Muara Enim-Lahat double track railway • Cempaka-Tanjung Karang double track railway • Sukamenanti-Tarahan double track railway • Rejosari/KM3-Bakauheni new railway line
Reactivation of Railway Lines: • Binjai-Besitang •
Padang Panjang-Bukit Tinggi-Payakumbuh • Pariaman-Naras-Sungai Limau • Muaro Kalaban-Muaro
Upgrading of Urban Railway Lines/Double Track/Electrification: • Medan Urban (Medan-Araskabu-Kualanamu Double Track Railway) • Padang Urban (Padang-BIM and Padang-Pariaman) • Batam Urban (Batam Center-Hang Nadim Airport) • Palembang Urban (Monorail)
Airport Access Railway Construction: • Kualanamu Airport, Medan (capacity increase) • Minangkabau International Airport, Padang • Hang Nadim Airport, Batam • Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport
Construction of Port Access Railway: • Lhokseumawe Port • Belawan Port • Kualatanjung Port • Dumai Port • Tanjung Api-Api Port • Panjang Port • Bakauheni Port
Kalimantan Island Corridor Construction of Special/Coal/Port Access Railway (PPP Scheme): • Muara Wahau-Muara Bengalon • Murung Raya-West Kutai-Paser-Panajam Paser Utara-Balikpapan • Puruk Cahu-Mangkatib
Construction of Intercity/Trans Kalimantan Railway: • New railway line Tanjung-Paringin-Barabai-Rantau-Martapura-Banjarmasin • New railway line Balikpapan-Samarinda • New railway line Tanjung-Balikpapan • New railway line Banjarmasin-Palangkaraya • New railway line Palangkaraya – Sangau-Pontianak-State Border • New railway line Samarinda-Sangata-Tanjung Redep-State Border
Construction of Airport Access Railway: • Syamsuddin Noor Airport
Sulawesi Island Corridor Construction of Inter-City Railway/Trans Sulawesi: • New railway line Manado-Bitung • New railway line Bitung-Gorontalo-Isimu • New railway line Pare Pare-Mamuju •
New railway line Makassar-Pare Pare (Currently Segment: Mandai – Barru which will operate on 28 December 2023 including the Garongkong branch) • New railway line Makassar-Sangatminasa-Takalar-Bulukumba-Watampone • New railway line Mamuju-Palu-Isimu
Urban Railway Development: • Makassar City and Surrounding Areas • Manado City
Airport/Port Access Railway Development: • Sultan Hasanuddin Airport • Garonggong Port, New Makassar Port • Bitung Port
Papua Island Corridor • The development of a new railway line in Papua is only planned for one, namely for the Sorong-Manokwari line. ==Active railways==