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Jakarta Post

Bright future ahead for commuter line

In recent years, state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has seen an increasing number of passengers on both its inner and intercity lines, particularly in Operational Region (Daop) 1 Jakarta

Vela Andapita (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, November 12, 2019

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Bright future ahead for commuter line

In recent years, state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has seen an increasing number of passengers on both its inner and intercity lines, particularly in Operational Region (Daop) 1 Jakarta.

According to KAI, the company served a total of 19.1 million passengers in Daop 1 in 2018, up from 18.5 million in 2017. The figures do not include the number of passengers on the commuter line operated by KAI’s subsidiary PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), which services up to 1.1 million passengers per day.

KCI aims to serve 343.5 million passengers by the end of 2019.

The ever-growing number of passengers has driven the train operators to not only increase their schedules, but also to look for ways to better accommodate the growing number of commuters whose daily activities depend on the railway.

Under the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept, train stations are being developed to contain housing areas and coworking spaces.

For long-distance trips managed by KAI, the company has made several adjustments and plans to make more to better serve passengers.

As of Nov. 1, Bekasi Station in West Java now serves long-distance trains that depart from Jakarta Kota Station.

“Passengers from Bekasi no longer have to go all the way to Jakarta Kota Station; they can go to Bekasi Station to catch their train,” KAI Daop 1 spokesperson Eva Chairunnisa said as quoted by kompas.com.

According to Eva, the company has equipped the station with additional facilities such as ticket counters, check-in counters, a waiting room for up to 160 people and benches on the platform that can seat 128 people.

Manggarai Station in South Jakarta is also being readied to become a central hub for all train traffic, replacing Gambir Station in Central Jakarta.

In 2022, Manggarai Station will start serving long-distance trains and Gambir Station will only serve commuter line and special trains.

The plan will be realized after the completion of the ongoing renovation of Manggarai Station, including the laying down of a quadruple track, also known as a double-double track (DDT).

The DDT, which will be operational by 2020, will provide separate tracks for commuter line, long-distance and Railink airport trains, making trips quicker.

“By the end of 2021, [long-distance trains] will be redirected to Manggarai,” Transportation Ministry Railway Directorate General Supandi said.

The Railink airport train began taking passengers at Manggarai Station on Oct. 5 on platforms 9 and 10. The train is scheduled to depart every 30 minutes from 5:10 a.m. to 9:40 p.m., daily.

The entrance gate for the airport train is separate from the gates for the commuter line and intercity trains.

“The gate for the airport train is located on the west side of the main entrance on Jl. Saharjo I, next to bridge heading toward Pasaraya Manggarai shopping mall,” the ministry’s railway and traffic director, Danto Restiawan, said.

Before beginning operations from Manggarai Station, the airport train already made stops at BNI City Station, Duri Station and Batu Ceper Station.

Through the TOD concept, the government plans to develop train stations into places people can live and interact.

KAI has formed partnerships with state-owned construction firms PT Perumnas, PT PP and PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) for TOD projects.

In October this year, PP signed an agreement to build two towers containing 621 apartments at Juanda Station in Central Jakarta. The first tower is expected to be completed by the end 2021.

Wika, meanwhile, will build an apartment tower at Senen Station, also in Central Jakarta.

Last year, KAI also formed a partnership with Perumnas to develop TOD housing at Rawa Buntu Station in South Tangerang, Banten, Tanjung Barat Station in South Jakarta, Pondok Cina Station in Depok, West Java, and at Bogor Station, West Java.

Experts believe that TODs will provide more livable and affordable housing in the city.

In addition to housing, KAI has also opened coworking spaces in several stations in Jakarta, namely Gambir, Juanda and BNI City stations, as well as at Bandung Station in Bandung, West Java, and Semarang Tawang Station in Semarang, Central Java.

The coworking spaces offer a range of amenities, including Wi-Fi and up to 16 seats and work desks.

KAI general director Edi Sukmoro said the facilities were aimed at accommodating busy commuters, particularly millennials, by providing places where they could boost productivity.

“Train stations have become hubs for public activities. It’s only right that we build coworking spaces at the stations,” Edi said as quoted on the company’s official website.

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