Gov’t to Reactivate Bogor-Sukabumi Railway Service This Weekend
Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi and Mayor of Bogor Bima Arya inspect Bogor-Sukabumi railway trial operation, Sunday (04/03). (Photo by: PR of Bogor City Government)
The Bogor-Sukabumi railway will resume its operation this weekend, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi has stated.
“We will ensure that by the end of this week the people of Bogor can travel to Sukabumi (using the Bogor-Sukabumi railway) in a faster way,” the Minister said after inspecting the trial of double track railway in Sukabumi regency, West Java province, Sunday (04/03).
Budi said that the double track construction and several measures to reduce the height of the train line were carried out to increase railway’s capacity and speed.
“The Bogor-Sukabumi railway is full of history and has economic impact by supporting the mobility of people and goods,” he added.
The Minister went on to say that after the construction of the double track, stations in the Bogor-Sukabumi line will be renovated with a heritage concept. The renovation aims to make the stations as tourist attraction for people in Jakarta, Bogor, Sukabumi, and the surrounding areas.
In the meantime, Mayor of Bogor Bima Arya said that the people of Bogor, Sukabumi, and the surrounding areas welcomed the reactivation of the Bogor-Sukabumi railway service.
Bima also applauded Ministry of Transportation for integrating the railway service with historical tours along the Bogor-Sukabumi line.
“In Bogor, there will be historical tour of Batutulis which will be integrated with the station through the concept of Batutulis Transit on Development,” Bima said.
Echoing Bima’s statement, Deputy Regent of Sukabumi Iyos Soemantri said that the people of Sukabumi and its surrounding areas have been waiting for the reactivation of Bogor-Sukabumi railway service. The service, he added, is expected to develop existing tourism potential, including geoparks and other tourist areas, as well as boost the people’s economy.
“The railway service will also reduce road congestion. We hope that in the future, freight transport from and to Sukabumi can use the railway service,” Iyos said.
For the record, the construction of the Bogor-Cicurug-Sukabumi double track is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) funded by the National Sharia Bond (SBSN) and the State Budget.
The Bogor-Sukabumi double track has a total length of 57.650 kilometers-track, 26.6 kilometers-track of which, namely the Paledang Bogor-Cicurug segment, has been completed. The partial construction of the Cicurug-Sukabumi segment, with a total length of 31.05 kilometers-track, is slated to be carried out this year.
The Bogor-Sukabumi railway, which will be operated by state railway company PT KAI, will cut the travel time from more than 100 minutes to around 80 minutes. In addition, the double track will increase the frequency of passenger trains from 6 trips to 12 trips, the frequency of freight trains from 2 trips to 8 trips, and the number of carriages from 6 to 8 carriages. (PR of Ministry of Transportation/UN) (RI/MUR)
