President Jokowi Urges LRT, MRT to be Integrated with Airports

President Joko Widodo leads a limited meeting on Light Rail Transit (LRT), at the Presidential Office, on Tuesday (29/3) afternoon

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asserted that the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, be it in Jakarta, Bogor, Tanggerang, Bekasi, Palembang, and Greater Bandung, must be accelerated.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project has begun. We hope it will be integrated with Mass Rapid Transport (MRT), LRT, Transjakarta, and the Commuter Line. Thus, passengers could reach the airport by using commuter line and they can also continue to take high-speed railway and LRT in Greater Bandung,” President Jokowi said during a limited meeting at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (29/3).

According to the President, based on the calculation and data he has received, the annual losses caused by traffic congestion reaches Rp 28 trillion in Jakarta and Rp 7 trillion in Bandung. Thus, based on macro calculation, there is a total loss of Rp 35 trillion every year.

“Therefore, those transportation modes are absolutely necessary for our development because we do not want to suffer financial losses due to traffic congestion anymore,” President Jokowi said.

The President also wants all transportation to be integrated with the airport and he said that transportation mode in Palembang has been integrated with the airport.

The President also hopes that LRT or even the high-speed railway in Jakarta will be linked with the airport because commuter line has been linked with the airport as well.

“However, we must calculate it, so it could be the alternative for the people to use transportation modes they prefer,” the President said, adding that the construction must be accelerated prior to the 18^th Asian Games in 2018.

“Therefore, all aspects related to LRT will hopefully be solved immediately, be it the track, technical specification of the train, financing, and its locomotives, as well as permits problem related to spatial, space, and intersection with flyover or other LRT and MRT tracks,” the President said.

“We hope it will be integrated. Thus, we will improve productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the existing investments,” the President said.

Attending the limited meeting were Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Presidential Chief of Staffs Teten Masduki, and Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro. (FID/JAY/ES)(RAS/EP/YM/Naster)