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Analysis: BPKP audit forces retrofitting of KCI’s retired train cars despite obstacles
The Development Finance Comptroller’s (BPKP) recent audit over PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia’s (KCI) capacity shows that the KCI is surprisingly not overcapacity – starkly different with the public perception and the KCI’s own audit.
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A number of passengers get off from a Commuter Line train at Tanah Abang Station, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, September 16, 2020. PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) bans their passengers to wear scuba masks or buff masks to prevent the coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission on the Commuter Line train. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Development Finance Comptroller’s (BPKP) recent audit over PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia’s (KCI) capacity shows that the KCI is surprisingly not overcapacity – starkly different with the public perception and the KCI’s own audit. The BPKP audit result solved the recent disagreement over the KCI’s plan to imported used trains from Japan and prompted the government to tell the KCI to send its retired train cars to INKA for retrofitting, despite the latter’s unfamiliarity with Japanese-made cars.
According to the BPKP audit, the KCI’s train occupancy still hovers at around 62.75 percent, projected to rise to 79 percent and then 83 percent in the coming two years. These results would imply that even if KCI retired a third of their fleet, they would still have the capacity to service commuters for the rest of 2023. However, the BPKP came to its conclusion for the 62.75 percent occupancy ratio based on the total number of occupants within the period of its test.
In contrast to BPKP’s review, the KCI did its own review based on peak hours, which found that its occupancy ratio could potentially spike up to 126 percent in 2023. This projection is based on the scenario where it retires some cars and reduces the KCI fleet down to 86 train cars. Should its fleet drop to 69 cars in 2024, the occupancy ratio could reach as high as 195 percent. Aggravating the issue further is the length of time of the retrofitting process, which is projected to take between 14 and 17 months, meaning that the KCI’s lowered capacity issue would be unavoidable for the rest of 2023.
Following the BPKP audit, the retrofitting scheme with PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) is looking to be the only option for the KCI. However, INKA and its joint venture partner, Stadler Rail AG, do not specialize in the kind of trains the KCI train network uses.
The Greater Jakarta train network has historically used Japanese train cars, which use stainless steel and are well suited for tracks that run low to the ground and pass through roads. Meanwhile, INKA, since 2020 when it entered a joint venture with Stadler to make PT Stadler Inka Indonesia, has been specializing in aluminum train cars. Aluminum train cars are used for the LRT project and are a popular export commodity because of their lower carbon footprint compared with stainless steel cars, however they are ill suited for the KCI’s railways.
The primary proponent for retrofitting at the start was Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, citing that KAI should focus on promoting local manufacturers such as INKA. Even after the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry voiced its approval of the KCI’s import plan, the Industry Ministry continued to oppose the import option so vehemently that Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan had to intervene.
On the other hand, the Transportation Ministry argues that KCI’s fleet can still be optimized to somewhat mitigate the overcapacity issue. One example of this would be to shorten the intervals between trains. Another example given by the Institute for Transportation studies is to move cars from less active routes to the more congested routes.
What’s more
Despite the hard stance against imports from the Industry Ministry and the results from the BPKP audit, Deputy SOEs Minister Kartika “Tiko” Wirjoatmodjo said the decision regarding the Japanese train car imports would not be final until May 2023. One last meeting regarding the train car imports would be held before Lebaran, participated by representatives from the SOEs Ministry, the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Ministry, the Industry Ministry and the Trade Ministry. Deputy Minister Tiko will be arguing for the urgency of the imports in this last meeting. He explained that the retrofitting scheme would be fine for 2024, but the KCI urgently needed to solve its capacity issues in the short term.
Echoing the urgency of the imports has been House of Representatives (DPR) commission VI member Andre Rosiadi, who recently engaged with netizens by testing the BPKP’s capacity report and riding the train from Rawa Buntu station to his office in Palmerah. Despite his route not going through heavily congested transit stations such as Tanah Abang, he was still subject to densely packed cars with little breathing room. Based on this test, he concludes that the KCI needed more cars added to its fleet. Andre explained that if more trains were added, the interval between trains could be cut from 9 minutes to 5 minutes, which would reduce congestion considerably, especially during rush hours.
What we’ve heard
A source in the government said that there were doubts within the government's internal circles—especially from the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of SOE—that INKA could produce commuter trains according to PT KCI's specifications. This doubt occurred after the results of the BPKP audit leaned against the import option and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment proposed that used trains be rejuvenated.
The issue is that PT KAI wants domestically produced KRLs to continue using Japanese technology because the entire Jabodetabek KRL track network is already using Japanese technology. The problem, said the source, is that INKA has established a partnership with Stadler, a company from Switzerland.
This Swiss company produces trains with different specifications from Japanese train cars. Stadler's trains, for example, are said to use aluminum. For KAI, the trains made of aluminum do not match the train criteria KCI wants. Meanwhile, Japanese trains use rust-resistant stainless steel material which is suitable for the Jabodetabek KRL track. Stadler did not want to replace their trains with stainless steel.
That's why KAI encourages Inka to use technology from J-TREC, a company from Japan. However, a source in the government said that Inka had not been able to cooperate with J-TREC because it was already bound by a cooperation contract with Stadler, which was a stipulation in the establishment of their joint venture company, PT Stadler Inka Indonesia.
However, added another source at the Ministry of SOEs, a cooperation with Stadler cannot begin. This is because, as part of the cooperation contract, it is written that the manufacturing of trains can only be carried out after a purchase order for 500 units for the driven train series has been received. Meanwhile, PT KCI does not need to replace that many train cars.
It is suspected that a number of these stipulations have contributed to the alleged stagnation of INKA’s collaboration with Stadler. A source at the Transportation Ministry even said that the train factory in Banyuwangi, which was built to support the Inka-Stadler joint venture, is still empty. It is said that Stadler hasn’t even brought in their manufacturing equipment into the Banyuwangi factory.
It is because of this that the SOE Ministry suggested that the plan to import used cars from Japan should still be carried out, but with a limited mechanism, at least for 2023.
Since the very start, the SOE Ministry was opposed to the Industry Ministry’s hard stance. The SOE Ministry already agreed with the KCI import plan. The SOE Ministry estimates that the retrofit option will not be able to overcome the train car deficit nor the projected increase in passengers. Moreover, there are 10 train car series that are over 45 years old and must be replaced before the end of this year. Additionally, the SOE Ministry’s position is supported by the Transportation Ministry.
Disclaimer
This content is provided by Tenggara Strategics in collaboration with The Jakarta Post to serve the latest comprehensive and reliable analysis on Indonesia’s political and business landscape. Access the latest edition of Tenggara Backgrounder to read the articles listed below:
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