DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v10i1.30465

From Zuid-Sumatra Staatsspoorwegen (ZSS) to Babaranjang: Coal Transportation in South Sumatra, 1914–2006

*Tomy Wijaya orcid  -  Master's Program in History Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, State University of Jakarta, Indonesia
Syafruddin Yusuf orcid  -  History Education Study Program, Department of Social Studies Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sriwijaya University, Indonesia

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Abstract
Railway infrastructure played an important role in the development of coal mining and commodity distribution in South Sumatra. This research examines the historical transformation of coal transportation between 1914 and 2006, focusing on the transition from the colonial railway network to the establishment of the Tanjung Enim–Tarahan corridor and the Babaranjang system. Employing a historical method, the research applies heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography to examine colonial railway planning documents, legal regulations, government records, parliamentary proceedings, technical reports, and institutional publications, alongside relevant secondary literature. The findings demonstrate that during the colonial period, the Zuid-Sumatra Staatsspoorwegen (ZSS) network facilitated coal transportation from inland mining areas through regional railway connections, particularly towards Kertapati. Following independence, the nationalization of mining assets and successive institutional reorganizations transformed the management of railway infrastructure and coal distribution. A further logistical transformation occurred during the New Order through the development of the dedicated Tanjung Enim–Tarahan corridor and the introduction of the Babaranjang system around 1986, followed by the operation of the Tarahan coal terminal in 1988. This research argues that the Babaranjang corridor was not a direct continuation of a colonial railway line but a postcolonial infrastructural reorganization shaped by changing state institutions and economic priorities. It contributes to the historiography of Indonesian transportation by demonstrating the relationship between colonial infrastructural legacies, institutional transformation, and the reorganization of resource distribution in postcolonial Indonesia.
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Keywords: South Sumatra; Zuid-Sumatra Staatsspoorwegen (ZSS); Colonial Railway; Coal Transportation; Babaranjang; Railway Infrastructure; Economic Transformation

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