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railbus service from Padang city to Minangkabau International Airport in West Sumatra is set to start operating next year after being put on hold for more than two years due to land-acquisition issues.

A railbus with a capacity of 180 passengers arrived at Simpang Haru Station in Padang on Dec. 30 2012, but the railbus, manufactured by state-run train industry PT INKA in Madiun, East Java, had to lay idle at the station because a 4.2-kilometer stretch of railway from Duku to Minangkabau airport in Ketaping, Padangpariaman regency, had yet to be completed.

Besides land-acquisition issues, Transportation Deputy Minister Bambang Susantono said recently that the railbus would not operate this year on account of construction of the railway as well as a bridge.

'€œWe expect it to operate next year, including the line to Pulau Air Station,'€ Bambang said during a trial of the railbus service in Padang.

The Transportation Ministry, added Bambang, has allocated Rp 70 billion (US$5.8 million) this year for the construction of the bridge, railway line and to improve facilities.

A total of Rp 126 billion has been set aside for the railbus project, while funds for land acquisition are derived from the provincial budget.

West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno said the railway line would be expanded in stages. '€œAccording to target, the railway line from Pulau Air Station to Minangkabau airport is expected to be completed by 2015,'€ said Irwan.

Pulau Air Station, located in the Batang Arau area in Padang Kota Lama, dates back to the Dutch colonial era. The railway line from the station to Simpang Haru Station has long been abandoned and filled with squatter houses, but they were cleared in the past month.

Separately, West Sumatra Transportation, Communication and Informatics Agency head Mudrika said 70 percent of the land acquisition for the railway line had been achieved.

'€œThe delay is due to the land acquisition process at the regency land agency. We have targeted to finish this year, but we will immediately work on the land that has been acquired,'€ said Mudrika.

At a speed of between 50 and 60 km/h, the distance from the city center to the airport could take 29 minutes by railbus, he added.

Apart from the railbus, West Sumatra will also revive the Padang-Padangpanjang railway line. Transportation Deputy Minister Bambang said restoration work had been completed and that it would undergo a safety assessment in the next two months.

'€œAfter that, the route can be restored,'€ Bambang said. The Padang-Padangpanjang railway line, which goes through Lembah Anai, is crucial to help minimize traffic congestion.

The route, added Bambang, would be extended to Bukittinggi and Payakumbuh as part of the planned Trans-Sumatra Railway, which will be developed in stages.