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Transportation Ministry plans to extend Commuter Line to Karawang
The Transportation Ministry has plans to extend the Greater Jakarta Commuter Line to Karawang, West Java, four years after the plan first emerged in 2019.
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A commuter train bound for Bogor arrives at Manggarai Station in South Jakarta on Jan. 3, 2023.
(Shutterstock/Arif Ardiansyah Susilo)
T
he Transportation Ministry is revisiting plans to extend the Greater Jakarta Commuter Line (KRL) from Cikarang district in Bekasi regency, West Java, to the neighboring regency of Karawang.
Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said on Tuesday that the plan was first proposed by the state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) in 2019. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan was never realized.
Adita said extending the Commuter Line would need further consideration, especially regarding financial aspects such as funding and the required budget. Adita was unable to confirm when the ministry could kick off the plan.
Aside from Cikarang, the Greater Jakarta commuter train also links Jakarta with other surrounding suburban cities, such as West Java's Bekasi, Bogor and Depok, as well as Banten's Tangerang, Serpong and Rangkasbitung.
In 2019, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the KRL would reach Karawang with the ministry aiming to finish construction by the end of 2020. Budi had said the ministry must finalize the infrastructure construction plans first before beginning construction the following year.
Budi added that for the electrified KRL train to reach Karawang, the existing railway must be expanded to a double-double track railway. Currently the double-double track railway only reaches Cikarang.
The double-double track railway is needed to separate Commuter Line journeys from long-distance trains, allowing a faster headway for the Greater Jakarta KRL train.
