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Jakarta Post

Airport railway line on track for completion by 2017

Passengers expecting fast, hassle-free travel to and from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport can be certain they will be able to enjoy the convenience in 2017

Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, June 25, 2016

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Airport railway line on track for completion by 2017

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assengers expecting fast, hassle-free travel to and from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport can be certain they will be able to enjoy the convenience in 2017. They are being promised as much by the companies in charge of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport railway project.

State railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and Railink, its subsidiary, say that progress is on track for the rail project and that all work on it will be completed by next year.

There are concerns that the project’s land procurement might hamper the completion of the project. However, KAI president director Edi Sukmoro said it was finalizing the land procurement, which has been challenged by locals in a legal dispute.

The land in dispute spans 500 meters and is located in Batuceper, Tangerang, Banten. “The Supreme Court has issued a ruling in our favor,” Edi said recently, adding that KAI was in the process of securing land near the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) toll road project as well.

State construction firm Jasa Marga will handle the JORR. Both parties have reached an agreement regarding the land transfer, with the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry bearing the transfer costs.

KAI previously said it needed 35 hectares of land in total for the railway project, 65 percent of which has been acquired and paid for. Around Rp 1.5 trillion (US$112.81 million) worth of funds have been set aside for overall land procurement.

As work continues, KAI says it is confident the railway line will be open in the first half of 2017.

The line will begin from Manggarai Station in East Jakarta and go through Sudirman Station in Central Jakarta and Batuceper Station before reaching the airport. The whole track will span 37.6-kilometers, but at present, only a 25.3 kilometers have been built.

KAI is responsible for acquiring land for the additional 12.3 kilometers of track, expanding existing stations to facilitate travelers and developing new railway signals.

It plans to renovate Manggarai Station and equip it with a separate underpass and platform. It is also looking to expand Sudirman Station and add a specific section to accommodate travelers.

Meanwhile, Railink president director Heri Kuswantoro said construction of the station at the airport was 50 percent complete and would be fully complete in November.

Railink has also received four out of 10 trains, each comprising 10 cars. It purchased them through a joint venture between state train manufacturer PT INKA and Bombardier Transportation. The total value of the purchase is listed at Rp 1 trillion.

Once the airport railway line is completed, it will be able to facilitate the movement of 33,726 people on a daily basis. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport will also become the second airport in the country with its own railway line, after the Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.

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