Indonesia Launches its first MRT

It's finally arrived; Jakarta has commissioned its first Mass Transport system, the first such system in Indonesia. A project fraught with difficulty, taking longer than expected with development stopping frequently.

The system has been on trial since December, testing all supporting systems, electronic gates as well as the reactions of emergency services should the need arise.  Services will operate from March 12th, 2019.

In the past week the proud authorities invited government officials, ambassadors and journalists to trial the first MRT in Indonesia.

The final touches are taking place. They're busy touching up the paint, polishing fittings on the MRT stations' interior and walkways.

If the public trial run goes off without a hitch, the country's first MRT will start commercial operation by the end of next month.

The route initially will operate from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, a distance of 15.7KM. There are 13 stops, journey should take approx. 30 minutes. This will halve the time of a normal commute. For a city with more than 25M people this is significant.

Capacity

A single MRT train comprises six carriages which can carry up to 1,950 passengers. By 2024, the MRT is expected tocarry up to 430,000 passengers a day.

EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guérend has sung his praises for the Jakarta MRT, saying he loved the modern look and its well-thought-out amenities.

When he went on his trial run last week, the ambassador remarked the Jakarta MRT even appeared more modern than some old subway trains in European countries.

EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guérend, right, speaks with Ghamal Peris, MRT Jakarta's business development director, during a trial run of the MRT on Feb. 12. (Antara Photo/Rivan Awal Lingga).

Naming Rights.

MRT Jakarta is selling naming rights for eight stations on the Lebak Bulus-Bundaran Hotel Indonesia line, which allow a company to attach its brand name to a station for 10 years.

Naming rights for three stations have already been bought by state-controlled lender Bank Negara Indonesia for the Dukuh Atas-BNI Station; another state-owned lender Bank Mandiri for the Istora-Mandiri Station; and Astra International for the Setiabudi-Astra Station.

The naming rights for five more stations—Bendungan Hilir, Blok M, Senayan, Lebak Bulus and Sisingamangaraja—are still up for auction.

Investments

The Lebak Bulus-Bundaran Hotel Indonesia line makes up Phase 1 of the Jakarta MRT network which will eventually cover a total distance of 110 kilometers, linking the sprawling city's north, south, east and west.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loaned Rp 16 trillion to the Jakarta administration for the Phase 1 construction.

Suppliers & Contractors

• The MRT trains are produced by Japanese rail car manufacturer Nippon Sharyo, a subsidiary of Central Japan Railway Company.

• Jakarta MRT bought 16 of their made-in-Japan trains for Rp 1.6 trillion. All of them arrived in Jakarta last year.

• A consortium of Japanese constructor Shimitsu Kobayashi, state-owned builder Wijaya Karya and Jaya Konstruksi worked on two sections of the underground track.

• Another consortium of Sumitomo Mitsui and Hutama Karya worked on the remaining underground track.

• Japanese railway company Tokyu and state-owned constructor Wijaya Arya built two sections of the elevated track.

• Japanese firms Obayashi and Shimizu formed a joint venture with local firm Jaya Konstruksi to build the remaining elevated track.

Future Lines

On Oct. 23 last year, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed to loan Rp 9.4 trillion to the Jakarta Provincial Government for Phase 2 of the MRT project to build a line from Sarinah to Kota.

This is the first of two instalments which will be used to fund the first stage of construction in Phase 2.

• Phase 2: Sarinah to Kota, track length: 7.8 kilometers, 7 underground stations: Sarinah, Monas, Harmoni, Sawah Besar, Mangga Besar, Glodok, Kota. Phase 2 construction is set to begin in March 2019.

• Phase 3: Cikarang to Jakarta, track length: 87 kilometers, this line will run from east to west, connecting Cikarang and Balaraja with Jakarta. Phase 3 construction is planned to begin in 2020.