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onstruction on a train station at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has started with the erection of a piling on a 7,200-hectare plot of land as a foundation for the station.

State-owned airport management company PT Angkasa Pura II will be responsible for overseeing the construction. Meanwhile, state-owned developer PT Adhi Karya will be responsible for the development of the station.

According to AP II spokesman Yudis Tiawan, the development of the station will cost a total of Rp 1.39 billion (US$114,436) and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. Yudis said that the station would be built next to the company'€™s Gedung 632, a storage building.

'€œFirst, Adhi Karya will develop the structure of the station, then continue with the construction. The station is expected to be completed by December next year,'€ Yudis said on Saturday. He explained that the station construction had started later than expected because the area had first needed to be cleared of waste.

The station, he said, would be equipped with facilities including a ticketing counter, public hall, electronic gate, waiting lounge and commercial area. He added that the station would have several platforms with a capacity of 2,000 people and a building with a capacity of 1,500 people.

Previously, AP II has said that the building will be connected to the airport'€™s Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

Yudis further said that due to the construction, several roads would be closed. '€œJl. C3 and Jl. C4 will be closed and redirected to Jl. P1 and Jl. M2 ['€¦] This is so the construction is not disrupted by passing motorists. There will be police officers on site to guide motorists,'€ he said. Dozens of office buildings are located along Jl. C3 and Jl. C4.

Meanwhile, PT Railink, a joint venture of AP II and state-owned railway operator PT KAI, will be responsible for building rail tracks and train stations outside the airport area.

KAI Railink president director Muhammad Fadhila said that all routes were expected to be operational by January 2016.

'€œWe will build several new stations to connect Greater Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta airport, including a new station next to the existing Sudirman station in Central Jakarta and in Batu Ceper, Tangerang,'€ Fadhila told The Jakarta Post
on Sunday.

The line will link Manggarai Station in South Jakarta and the airport station.

KAI Railink previously developed train stations and railways connecting Medan to Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra. The firm currently also operates the Kuala Namu airport train. Kuala Namu is now said to be the country'€™s most modern airport.

There are a total of 42 trips daily to and from Kualanamu and Medan, 21 departures from each end. The journey is 29 kilometers and costs passengers Rp 80,000.

The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport train fare has not yet been decided, according to Fadillah. The journey from the airport to Batu Ceper is around 12 kilometers.

Last month, the company started construction on the Batu Ceper station and rail tracks. Due to the construction, the M1 rear entrance of the airport was closed and vehicles redirected to Jl. Perimeter Selatan and Jl. Perimeter Utara.

In total, the airport railway project will cost Rp 2 trillion and is funded by Railink.