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Railway System 1
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© Wikimedia Commons contributors / CC BY-SA
UNESCO WHCCulturalInscribed 20191610-007

Railway System

Component of Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto

Overview

Built for the extraction, processing and transport of high-quality coal in an inaccessible region of Sumatra, this industrial site was developed by the Netherlands East Indies’ government in the globally important period of industrialisation from the late 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. The workforce was recruited from the local Minangkabau people and supplemented by Javanese and Chinese contract workers, and convict labourers from Dutch-controlled areas. It comprises the mining site and company town, coal storage facilities at the port of Emmahaven and the railway network linking the mines to the coastal facilities. The Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage was built as an integrated system that enabled the efficient deep-bore extraction, processing, transport and shipment of coal. It is also an outstanding testimony of exchange and fusion between local knowledge and practices and European technology.

About Railway System

Rail transport is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running on tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road transport. It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed. Additionally, the track spreads the weight of the train which means larger amounts can be carried than with trucks on roads.

Read more on Wikipedia

Selection Criteria

(ii)(iv)

Details

Countries
Indonesia
ISO Codes
ID
Coordinates
-0.7666, 100.7379
View on UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto← All UNESCO World Heritage Sites
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Railway System

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Railway System

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Railway System