TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
1,000 railway crossings to be closed for Jakarta-Surabaya railway project
Change Size
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (second left) inspects the Jakarta-Bogor-Sukabumi railway service on Aug. 30.
(kompas.com/Achmad Fauzi)
T
he government will close about 1,000 railway crossings from Jakarta to Surabaya to make way for the medium-speed rail project connecting Jakarta with Surabaya, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said.
The project will use existing railway tracks.
“The project will use the existing rail tracks. This means we must eliminate some of the railway crossings,” said Budi over the weekend as reported by kompas.com.
To eliminate the railway crossings to help trains move along with fewer barriers, the government will construct overpasses or underpasses, the minister added.
Read also: New Jakarta-Surabaya railway to use existing tracks, govt now saysThe project also involves the repair of railway track, Budi said. He added that the project would be run by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry.
Previously, the government considered developing new tracks for the link.
Budi said the government finally decided to use the existing tracks after considering the cost of the project.
“Based on our calculations, the project will cost Rp 80 trillion [US$6.04 billion],” he said, adding that diesel-technology locomotives will pull the trains instead of electric ones as planned before.
The speed is set to reach 160 kilometers per hour. Once completed, passengers will be able to reach Surabaya from Jakarta in five hours. (bbn)
