The History of Padang Station

The story of Padang Station began when the state-owned railway company, Staatssporwegen ter Sumatra Westkust (SSS), built a railway network in Sumatra specifically to transport coal. Based on the Law of July 6, 1887 (State Gazette Number 163), this railway line was designed to connect Padang to Sawahlunto by passing through Padang Panjang. In its initial stage, SSS focused on building the line between Puluaer and Padang Panjang. The ambitious project was led by J. W. Ijzerman, a railway engineer , and it brought together a diverse workforce consisting of laborers from the Minangkabau, Nias, Javanese, and Chinese communities. 

On July 1, 1891, the 71-kilometer Puluaer–Padang Panjang railway line was officially inaugurated. To celebrate the occasion, Governor O. M. de Munnick and his entourage boarded a train from Padang Station, which simultaneously marked the official opening of the station to the public. A year later, on October 1, 1892, the network expanded further with the construction of a 7-kilometer branch line connecting Padang to the Teluk Bayur Harbor. 

In its early days, Padang Station was a relatively simple building featuring a platform roof made of iron. The area in front of the station was a wide, open yard used as a parking space for traditional horse-drawn carts like cikar and dokar. To support train maintenance, SSS also built a railway workshop (balai yasa) not very far from the station building. 

By the year 1900, the station had become quite busy, operating four daily train trips back and forth between Padang and Padang Panjang. At the time, passengers were divided into two distinct social classes: Class 1 for foreigners and Class 2 for the indigenous population. Aside from carrying passengers and coal, the trains were also used to transport vital export commodities, including coffee, cinnamon, and copra. Today, Padang Station is no longer just a transit point; it has been officially preserved as a historical cultural heritage site under the Padang Mayor's Decree Number 03 of 1998. 

Image 1: A view of the Padang Station platform back in 1915. (Source: KITLV 402225) 

Image 2: Carriage drivers (kusir delman) waiting for arriving passengers outside Padang Station in 1935. (Source: KITLV 52707)