B

usinesses and residents of Greater Jakarta and Banten may enjoy a better and faster flow of freight cars and commuter trains as the government claims that significant progress has been made in ongoing railway projects in both regions.

The Transportation Ministry announced on Monday several updates on several projects, including the double-double track (DDT) railway connecting Manggarai, in South Jakarta and Cikarang in West Java, a double-track (DT) railway connecting Banten’s Maja and Rangkasbitung, as well as efforts to modernize several stations along the way.

The ministry’s railway director general, Zulfikri, said the DT connecting Maja and Rangkasbitung should be operational by the end of November.

He added that the railway and its electrification were expected to increase the traffic capacity of commuter trains connecting Jakarta and Rangkasbitung, a small city that his home to various manufacturing facilities.

Maja, meanwhile, has seen a growing development of residential areas by major property developers as more people commute to and from Jakarta and its surrounding cities.

“Obviously, the railway electrification will increase the frequency of commuter trains connecting Tanah Abang [Central Jakarta] with Rangkasbitung and railway routes in between,” Zulfikri said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday. “Indeed, commuter trains now have reached Rangkasbitung, but the KRL [electric-powered commuter] still uses a single-track railway.”

Commuter Train Indonesia operational director Subakir echoed his sentiments.

“If there is a change in the signaling operating system from closed to open between the Tanah Abang and Rangkasbitung routes following the operation of the Maja-Rangkasbitung DT railway, the train frequency will increase by around 40 percent from its current frequency of 195 trips between Tanah Abang and Rangkasbitung,” said Subakir.

Zulfikri said the ministry would also open five stations by the end of November, namely in Cakung, Klender and Klender Baru in East Jakarta, Buaran in Banten and Kranji in West Java.

A new train depot in East Jakarta, called Cipinang Dipo, will be operational as well, he said.

The ministry is also planning to develop a DT railway project connecting Rangkasbitung and Merak in Banten, which is a main port for shipments and ferries to Sumatra.

“This year, we will continue our study on [the Rangkasbitung-Merak DT railway project] and hopefully, we can start construction in 2020,” said Yusrizal, head of the ministry’s Railway Technical Agency for Area 1 Jakarta and Banten.

Aside from the progress in Banten, the ministry also announced on Monday the development of a DDT railway project that would connect Manggarai and Cikarang, but it must first focus on completing a DDT project connecting Manggarai and Jatinegara in East Jakarta.

Zulfikri said the DDT railway would help separate long-haul tracks, commuter and airport rails to reduce delays and serve more passengers.

At the same occasion, Indonesian Transportation Society chairman Aditya Dwi Laksana said the project would significantly improve Greater Jakarta’s train system.

“As Jakarta does not yet have an exclusive [train] lane for mass transportation, right now there is still a lot of overlap with long-distance routes that share the same tracks as the commuter line,” he said. “With a double-track system, we will shorten travel time, increase capacity and improve safety.”