STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME CONGESTION AT RAILWAY CROSSINGS IN THE MERAK PORT AREA

Abstract

Merak Harbor is one of the busiest ferry ports in Indonesia which connects Java and Sumatra. Judging from the current condition of Merak Harbor, there is a train station that was built during the Dutch era and connects Rakasbitung and Merak Harbor. As the volume of vehicular traffic crossing at Merak Harbor increases, previously it was only served by 3 crossing piers and now there are 7 crossing piers, so traffic jams often occur which cause long queues due to level train crossings with V/C R= 0.9. In 2025 - 2026 there will be an increase in passengers and vehicles crossing by 36.1%. Based on survey results in the field, 75% of respondents strongly disagree with the railroad crossing. From the SWOT analysis, it was found that to support the smooth running of ship service activities, it is necessary to propose moving the location of the train station to another area that is still close to the Merak Crossing port area.