IDNAround – The Greater Jakarta light rail transit system, or Jabodebek LRT, will begin its operations in mid-2023, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo confirmed on Monday — shortly after going on a train ride.
This means that Jabodebek LRT will likely start operating around the same time as the currently suspended Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project.
“The Jabodebek LRT will be operational by June or July 2023, together with the [Jakarta-Bandung] high-speed train,” Jokowi said on Monday.
According to Jokowi, the Jabodebek LRT can have up to 420 passengers on board, while the capacity for the stations is about 520 people. State-owned train car manufacturer INKA is making the carriages and its driverless train operation system.
“What makes us really happy and proud is that [this LRT] is entirely made by INKA, including its driverless system,” Jokowi told reporters.
According to the president, the Jabodebek LRT project is now 87 percent complete. Works on the train depots and system synchronization are underway.
Earlier that day, Jokowi went on a test run from the Harjamukti Station in Depok to the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Station in East Jakarta. It only took 12 minutes for Jokowi and his entourage to complete the 9-kilometer trip.
“The LRT goes at a speed of 80 km per hour. So it is super fast and also driverless,” Jokowi said while adding that the train was also comfortable to ride on and did not make much noise.
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