MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said the train covered the 14-kilometer journey in one hour at speeds below 30 km per hour. But when the train enters commercial use in March 2019, it will reach speeds of between 40 and 60 km/h, and will cover the distance in half an hour.

The train is currently under an intensive internal testing period, and will begin public trial runs in December, as MRT Jakarta waits for 10 more trains to arrive from Japan.

“We are on target to launch commercial operations in March,” said William at Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle Station on Thursday.

From the scaffolding-lined entrance to the underground station, Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle Station was seen to have an overall grey hue; with aluminum-composite walls, concrete floors and a grey grid-like ceiling which exposes the inner workings of the station, with the pipes, ventilation and wiring visible. The lights, and even a digital information board, were working but not the air conditioning or washrooms.

He added that MRT Jakarta would employ 380 staff members to run the system, including 70 drivers who are currently undergoing training.

William estimated the system was about 95 percent complete with only small technicalities remaining.

Shinichi Yamanaka, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which funded the project, said the MRT technology in the project was among the most advanced available.

“It is a very high standard even compared with [that in] Japan,” he told The Jakarta Post. (nor)

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