"We are optimistic that the trial would begin in April 2022. Start the trial, and we will start the operations in June 2022," President Widodo stated at the Jakarta TMII LRT Station on Wednesday.
Widodo made the statement after testing the Jabodebek LRT, with the route from the Harjamukti Station to the Cibubur-Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) Station.
On the occasion, President Widodo was accompanied by Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, and other related officials.
"Why we build this LRT? We want to build integrated mass transportation. The MRT (mass rapid transit), LRT, airport trains, and Transjakarta buses are all integrated," the president stated.
The president believes this integration will make mass transportation more efficient.
"There will be efficiency in traveling for people from one point to another, and we hope that after this is completed, we will move on to other points," the head of state noted.
Construction of the Jabodebek LRT has currently reached 84.7-percent completion. Under stage 1, the Jabodebek LRT has three routes.
First, the Cawang-Cibubur route, extending 14.8 kilometers in length, for which currently 93.8 percent of the construction work has been completed.
Second, the 11-kilometer-long Cawang-Dukuh Atas route, whose 84.3-percent work has been completed, while the third is the Cawang-East Bekasi route, spanning 18.4 kilometers long, for which the work currently reaches 90.9-percent completion.
In addition to the three tracks, the Jabodebek LRT depot, located in East Bekasi, is being built, whose construction work has reached 44.1-percent completion.
The Jabodebek LRT will have 18 stops. Under normal conditions, one LRT series can carry 740 passengers. In congested conditions, it can carry 1,308 passengers at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.
Some of the advantages of LRT are the travel time being shorter than that by private vehicles or buses.
The Jabodebek LRT can cover the route from Bekasi Timur to Dukuh Atas in 45 minutes while taking merely 39 minutes to travel from Cibubur to Dukuh Atas.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Desca L, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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