Integrated with LRT & MRT, Groundbreaking of High-Speed Railway will be conducted on 21 January

Cabinet Secretary and related ministers gave a statement after a limited meeting on high-speed railway, at the Presidential Office

The Government decided that the construction of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway will be integrated with Light Rail Transit (LRT) for Great Bandung and Jakarta areas. Therefore, once high-speed railway is integrated with LRT and Mass Rapid Transport (MRT), including West East MRT, the transportation problem in Jakarta and Bandung will be solved.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said if it goes well, which means the Environment Management Plans (RKL), Environment Monitoring Plans (RPL), Environmental Impact Assessment (Amdal), permits for track and business entity are already completed by the Minister of Transportation, except for the Amdal and constructing permit, insya Allah, the construction permit will be issued on 20 January.

If the construction permit finished, insya Allah, the groundbreaking will be conducted on 21 January in KM 95. Therefore, the problems relating high-speed railway and its integration with LRT and MRT will be solved,” Pramono said to the reporters after a limited meeting which was held at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Friday (15/1) afternoon.

Minister of Transportation Ignasius Jonan who accompanied Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung added that the most important thing in the construction of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is that we are still waiting for the result of Amdal from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. “Once it is finished, the construction permit will be proceed,” Jonan said.

According to Jonan, his office has already issued the track, and hopefully it will sync the track of high-speed railway and LRT which will be constructed in Jabodetabek. “This is the project from State Budget (APBN), whereas the LRT which will be constructed in Jakarta is built by the Provincial Government of Jakarta. The Governmor of West Java suggested to build interconnection between high-speed railway and LRT in Great Bandung. Thus, the concept for transportation in big cities is agglomeration, such as in Bandung City, and buffer zones around the city, for example Cimahi, and others,” the Minister said.

In the integration, according to Jonan, the Ministry of Transportation will manage the routes and their interconnection. He later mentioned that some of the interconnection can be applied among the trains, some of them can be used only for passengers transit, because like the LRT in Jabodetabek, the LRT to-be-built in Jakarta and Great Bandung are using 10-67 width track. Meanwhile, high-speed railway uses 14-35 width track.

“Thus, do not ask whether the high-speed railway could switch or not. It can not. However, when it comes to people interconnection, the passengers can switch,” Jonan said.

The Minister explained several tracks in LRT Jakarta, LRT Jabodetabek could have interconnection among the trains, not only the passengers, but they can also use the existing track, namely the Jabodetabek commuter line.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung added that a Presidential Regulation on LRT in Great Bandung is now being prepared. “Hopefully, it could be issued soon, including the one that under Pak Jonan’s revision, it will be sent to the President,” Pramono concluded. (DID/ES) (RAS/MMD/YM/Naster)