Indonesia inaugurated a new rail route which connects Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten and Manggarai station in Jakarta on January 2.(Photo: Nikkei)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia inaugurated a new rail route whichconnects Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten and Manggarai station inJakarta on January 2.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by President Joko Widodo, Minister ofTransportation, Minister of Tourism, Coordinating Minister for Legal, Securityand Politics, Minister of Public Works and Housing, and National Police Chief.
The route was operated on a trial basis on New Year holiday, said director ofthe state railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Edi Sukmoro.
Each train is designed to carry 272 passengers per trip and there are 42 singletrips per day through three stations: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport,Batu Ceper station and Sudirman station.
Services from Sudirman Baru station start at 3:51am with the last traindeparting at 9:51pm (local time). From Soekarno-Hatta International Airport,services are available from 6:00-23:10 (local time).
Tickets are sold at flat price of 70,000 rupiahs (4.9 USD).
The 38 kilometre route linking the Soekarno-Hatta airport in the outskirts ofJakarta to the downtown takes 55 minutes, cutting driving time by half or more.
According to President Joko Widodo, Indonesian Government will continue todevelop public transportation to reduce traffic congestion in Jakarta and areasin vicinity.
Indonesia is completing a subway linking the north and south of the capital,with services expected to start in 2019. Jakarta’s terrible traffic causes 5.5billion USD in losses every year. Thus, it is crucial to branch out convenientmeans of transportation in Jakarta and some satellite cities like Bekasi,Tangerang, Depok and Bogor.-VNA
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