Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno went to test the Soekarno-Hatta Airport train that is said to be launched soon.

“I’ve tried it all, from ordering the ticket up to getting out of the gate. Everything went well, insya Allah [God willing] it will be available before Christmas this year,” said Rini.

The train will travel for 12.1 kilometers from Batuceper to the airport.

This project is being handled by several companies, State-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is in charge of building the railway and other supporting facilities, meanwhile state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) is developing stations in the airport that will connect the trains to all airport terminals.

PT Raillink is tasked as the operator of the airport train and is also responsible for facilities, interiors, maintenance tools, overhead crane, employees recruitment and others.

PT Len Industry is in charge of the railway signal and PT INKA is in charge of building the trains.

“This is the work of Indonesian people, even the ticketing system is developed by Railink,” Rini added.

Railink president director Heru Kuswanto said that the airport train is another alternative for people who want to go to the airport.

“Our experience of managing the Kualanamu International Airport train [in Medan] shows that it helps in improving the rating for accessibility of  Kualanamu International Airport,” he said.

He also added that there will be 10 trains operated along the railway and 124 services per day with a headway of 15 minutes that can accommodate 33,728 seats in a day.

From the early launching up until Dec. 31, the ticket fares will be from Rp. 20,000 – Rp. 30,000 ($1.40 - $2.10). Per January 2018, the price will increase to Rp. 100,000. (asw)

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