Yudhoyono wants private sector in railway business

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the private sector to invest in the rail industry as part of efforts to rejuvenate the country's shabby railway network.

"Following the passage of the rail transportation law, I call on the private sector to take part in revitalizing the national rail industry," Yudhoyono said in a speech to open the double-track railway linking Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta and Serpong in Banten.

Yudhoyono also asked the private sector to make the maximum use of the homegrown technology.

The House of Representatives endorsed in March a controversial rail transportation bill which allowed the private sector to take part in the rail industry.

The law stipulated the private sector, including multinational corporations, was allowed to participate, along with the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), in providing rail transportation and the manufacture of supporting facilities.

The law required the government to issue a regulation on the detailed participation of the private sector in the rail industry.

Yudhoyono said given rail transportation's massive appeal, the Transportation Ministry should improve its overall safety standards.

He called on PT KAI to maintain and refurbish old carriages as part of efforts to reach a target of zero-accidents.

The newly-inaugurated double track has been under construction since August last year and cost the central government Rp 320 billion (US$35.3 million).

The project included the construction of a 24-kilometer double-track; rebuilding five stations, two substations and 12 bridges; and compensating the owners of semi-permanent houses demolished along the route.

The double track would see up to 178 trips and would carry more than 55,000 passengers a day. Previously the track carried 89 trips.

The Transportation Ministry put the Serpong double-track project on a priority list of infrastructure projects in 2006, along with the Pasoso-Tanjung Priok route and the Manggarai-Bekasi double-track.

The Serpong-Tanah Abang route would become the pilot project for a modern railway network in the country.

All stations along the route, also known as the green line, would use an electronic ticketing system.

After the inauguration ceremony, Yudhoyono took part in the maiden trip of the economy class electric train, Ciujung.

Tickets for the economy class train, which has air conditioning, are more expensive than tickets for regular economy class services.

PT KAI said it planned to import 160 electric train cars this year from Japan and would build more tracks to serve commuters in Greater Jakarta and surrounding areas.

Currently, 65 trains serve nearly 500,000 commuters in the city every day.