Mass public transportation: High-speed railway to continue up to Surabaya
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Transportasi umum massal: Kereta cepat berlanjut hingga Surabaya
2 October 2023
Jakarta - The government has decided to continue Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway to Surabaya through Java’s southern coast route.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the high-speed railway project would continue to the eastern part of Java.
“The President ordered us to conduct a study on continuing Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway to Surabaya,” he said at the Hub Space event at Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) on Friday (29/9).
Later, Luhut explained that Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway would be continued through the Kertajati (Majalengka)-Yogyakarta-Solo-Surabaya route in East Java. Through the route, interconnection from the western side to the eastern side of Java can be achieved using the high-speed mass transportation.
“Java is an island. So, it cannot just be finished, it must be continued,” he said.
Luhut claims that the transportation sector in Indonesia has advanced with Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway. The high-speed railway that was constructed with China will operate commercially soon to be the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment said that transportation infrastructure development must be able to connect productive areas to encourage economic growth in new areas.
Through transportation connectivity, he added that people were expected to enjoy the benefits.
“The task to realise adequate transportation connectivity all over Indonesia is not easy. However, with hard work, various transportation infrastructure development programmes have been completed,” he said.
President Joko Widodo has also revealed that the second phase of the high-speed railway would continue the Jakarta-Bandung route to connect Bandung to Kertajati, Yogyakarta, Solo, and Surabaya.
The Head of State affirmed that the route was chosen to connect the southern part of Java.
The President emphasised that Java’s northern coast route already has a toll road.
“So, [Jakarta-Bandung-Surabaya high-speed railway] will be built to grow new economic points,” Jokowi said.
During the same occasion, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi mentioned that mass transportation development was crucial to establish a new culture in the community.
Budi Karya revealed that several cities in Indonesia has congestion and air pollution issues due to the use of private vehicles.
Urban mass transportation development that includes bus rapid transit (BRT), commuter line (KRL), light rail transit (LRT), mass rapid transit (MRT) is expected to encourage the people from using private vehicles to using mass transportation.
“Developing mass transportation is inevitable. If it is not carried out, the loss will reach hundreds of trillions per year due to traffic jams,” Budi Karya said.
However, the Transportation Minister affirmed that the government would not only develop transportation infrastructure, but they would also implement intermodal integration in the first mile and the last mile.
With the strategy, the people will find it easier to access the modes of mass transportation that have been provided by the government and related stakeholders.
