History of the Mrawan Tunnel

The Mrawan Railway Tunnel is located in the Sidomulyo area, Sido District, Jember Regency. Cutting through Mount Gumitir, this tunnel is situated between Mrawan Station and Kalibaru Station at km 30+777. To this day, the 690-meter-long Mrawan Tunnel is the second-longest active railway tunnel in Indonesia, following the Sasaksaat Tunnel, which spans 949 meters.

The Mrawan Tunnel was constructed between 1901 and 1902, with structural improvements completed in 1910 by the state-owned railway company, Staatsspoorwegen (SS). The construction of this tunnel was part of the Kalisat–Banyuwangi railway line project, which was led by a Hoofdingenieur (Chief Engineer). Technically, the tunnel was built by excavating from the Kalisat-facing side near Mount Botoh, followed by excavation from the Banyuwangi-facing side. Subsequently, drilling and excavation were carried out from both directions simultaneously. By December 5, 1902, the tunnel excavation had reached 450 meters, along with a 300-meter drainage system.

In its early days of operation, the tunnel—which connects Jember Regency and Banyuwangi Regency—was traversed by passenger and freight trains transporting export commodities such as coffee, sugar, and rice, as well as daily agricultural products from the communities in Banyuwangi and its surrounding areas. Today, the tunnel, which falls under the management of Operational Region (Daop) IX Jember, is used by long-distance trains such as the Mutiara Timur Siang, Mutiara Timur Malam, Sri Tanjung, and Tawang Alun, as well as local trains like the Pandanwangi and Probowangi. In addition, the Mrawan Tunnel is also used by the Kalibaru–Mrawan Tourist Trolley (Lori Wisata), which was inaugurated in March 2016.

Image : 1 Workers of the Mrawan Tunnel construction around 1902. (Source: Tropenmuseum TM-ALB-1956-70)

Image : 2 A locomotive trial run passing through the Mrawan Tunnel in 1902. (Source: Tropenmuseum TM-ALB-1956-69)

Image : 3 The atmosphere around the Mrawan Tunnel in 1930. (Source: KITLV 84212)