Rail Service to Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Begin in July: Transport Minister
[Updated on 05:30 p.m. on Monday to add statements from Transportation Minister and State-Owned Enterprises Minister]
Jakarta. The planned railway line connecting Central Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang is expected to begin service this July, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Monday (13/03).
"The Soekarno-Hatta Airport train line is set to open around July," Budi said, adding that construction is slated to be finished a month earlier.
Budi's comment confirmed a previous statement by Muhammad Awaluddin, president director of Indonesia's airport company Angkasa Pura II, that the 36.3 kilometer railway line will begin operations in July.
On Sunday, Budi posted a status on his official Twitter page about a meeting with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno and acting Jakarta Governor Soemarsono, where the three discussed ongoing infrastructure projects throughout the city:
1. Sore tadi, sy dan Menteri BUMN Rini Soemarno & Plt Gub DKI Soemarsono tinjau prkembgn pmbgnan proyek MRT & pembangunan KA Bndara Soetta pic.twitter.com/hUv9z8AQG9
— Budi Karya Sumadi (@BudiKaryaS) March 12, 2017
"This afternoon [Sunday], SOE Minister Rini Soemarno, the acting Jakarta governor and I inspected progress on the mass rapid transit (MRT) system and construction on the airport train to Soekarno-Hatta," Budi said in his Twitter post.
In a press release, Budi said the train will carry up to 33,000 passengers per day, or about 20 percent of the total daily commuters traveling to and from Soekarno-Hatta.
One of the airport train's routes will connect the Jakarta Kota station to the airport via Kampung Bandan, Duri and Batu Ceper stations. The second route will connect Manggarai station to the airport via Sudirman Baru, Duri and Batu Ceper.
Both routes are expected to run up to 40 trains per day.
The Sudirman Baru station is currently under construction near the Sudirman station and the Shangri-La Hotel in Central Jakarta.
Transport Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata said the Sudirman station will be equipped with pedestrian bridges that will allow easy transfers between the various commuter lines serving Greater Jakarta.
The station will also house a TransJakarta bus stop and will be connected to the city's light rail transit system, another commuter railway line currently under construction.
SOE Minister Rini said that construction on the airport railway line is more than halfway completed but that land acquisition issues continue to cause delays.
"We need to wait a couple more days for the court's ruling over the land [acquisition] issue in an area between Batu Ceper and the airport," she said, adding that the ruling is expected to be handed down on March 20-23.
Rini also mentioned that the government will consider to increase the capacity of the airport train if needed.
Traveling on the airport train is expected to cost Rp 100,000 ($7.50) per trip, more than double the fare on the existing airport bus service, Damri. Still, the airport train should provide an efficient and economic mode of transportation for those who wish to stay off Jakarta's often-congested main thoroughfares.
Passengers will be able to transfer between the airport's three terminals via the automated people mover system (APMS), Soekarno-Hatta's planned local rail system.
The driverless APMS is currently under construction but is expected to become fully operational by September.
A similar rail service in Padang, West Sumatra, is scheduled to finish construction by the end of this year.
With additional reporting from Investor Daily
Watch Indonesia Highlights at 8 p.m. tonight on the Jakarta Globe News Channel and Facebook Live to find out more about the ongoing construction of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Train.
Tags: Keywords: