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ov. 27, p1

The Transportation Ministry is preparing a 2,168-kilometer railway linking Aceh in the northern part of Sumatra to Lampung on the southern tip of the country'€™s longest island as part of the medium-term development program.

The feasibility study for the development of the Trans-Sumatra railway is expected to begin next year.

According to the government'€™s 2015-2019 National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) draft released by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) last week, the 2,168-kilometer railway will stretch from Aceh to Lampung, connecting Sumatra'€™s major cities, seaports and airports to ease traffic and reduce logistics costs.

Your comments:

Such a train would be an amazing thing.

Firstly, of course, for the transport of goods in a safe, reliable, economic and fast way and then there would be a great potential for tourism '€” maybe like the Orient Express with special cars and exclusive service and with the trip lasting a few days with stops at special points along the route, which would over time also of course boost local tourism (if, of course well prepared, maintained and observed '€” and not instantly destroyed by annoying street hawkers and dishonest '€œtour'€ guides ripping tourists off).

IAM Groot

I was in this country in October this year and took a train trip, first class from Yogyakarta to Surabaya.

Indonesian railways need up grading on all levels, from comfort to speed. Although the fastest, safest train commutes are in Japan and China, our Europeans trains are OK.

Who will build this railway, I wonder? Railways need massive subsidies to be built and operated.

Animi

I am a huge fan of trains but clearly even the first-class train from Jakarta to Surabaya (which I'€™ve taken in both directions twice already) lags behind its European counterparts in quality and flair.

Although it is not the worst, there is lot of space for improvement.

I'€™ve traveled by train from Rome to Budapest via Vienna a couple of times and it'€™s always been a pleasant experience.

If you have the time try it once, both the starting point and the destination are great places - maybe a stopover in Vienna would be the cherry on the cake. Recommended time '€” late summer.

Winie