Perumka asked to further improve railway service<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto
\nurged state-owned railway company Perumka yesterday to further
\nimprove the quality of its services in order to cater to middle-
\nincome people in Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Better quality of service is badly needed to attract the
\npublic, especially those from a middle-income level, to change
\ntheir mode of transportation from private vehicles to trains,\"
\nHaryanto said at the inauguration of the renovated Tanah Abang
\nRailway Station in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The minister also simultaneously inaugurated yesterday the
\nelectrification of the Tanah Abang-Serpong railway tracks and a
\nnew diesel train serving the Tanah Abang-Serpong route.<\/p>\n
He said that railway service in Greater Jakarta was primarily
\nused by lower-income people. \"The renovated station is expected
\nto help attract executives, with the ultimate goal of reducing
\nthe use of private vehicles,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The smaller number of private cars, Haryanto said, would
\ndefinitely help reduce one of the municipality's biggest
\nheadaches -- traffic jams.<\/p>\n
\"In order to achieve the objective, spacious parking lots are
\nbeing built at major railway stations to enable passengers to
\npark their cars there and continue their travels by train,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He asked Perumka officials to pay greater attention to the
\nimprovement of railway services, ranging from parking
\navailability and ticketing systems, to the punctuality of the
\ntrains' time schedules.<\/p>\n
Haryanto further said that there was a sharp increase in the
\nnumber of people who prefer commuting by train, but on the other
\nhand, train capacity was still limited.<\/p>\n
\"The imbalance between demand and seat availability ends up in
\nthe overcapacity of trains, especially during rush hour,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said that the growth rate in the amount of railway
\npassenger cars in Greater Jakarta reached only 30 percent per
\nyear, far below the 50-percent growth rate in passengers.<\/p>\n
Such conditions poorly support the government's plan to
\nimprove railway service, particularly in terms of safety,
\nsecurity and cleanliness, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Overcapacity forces overcrowding of railway cars. Besides
\nbeing unsightly, it is also a danger to passenger safety,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Perumka's president, Soemino Eko Saputro, said that the
\nrenovated Tanah Abang Station, the electrification and the new
\ntrain enabled the company to raise train frequency to Serpong,
\nManggarai and Kota Stations from 52 trips to 80 trips.<\/p>\n
\"These three things also enable Perumka to increase
\ntransportation capacity from 40,600 passengers per day to 62,094
\npassengers per day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Tanah Abang Station renovation, which cost about Rp 91.74
\nbillion (US$37.6 million), was part of 26 programs covered in the
\nGreater Jakarta railway system master plan.<\/p>\n
Renovation took place because the old station was no longer
\ncapable of accommodating the increasing number of passengers.
\nUnder the renovation project, the station's passenger capacity
\nrose from 4,850 people per hour during rush hour to 7,600 people
\nper hour.<\/p>\n
Besides increasing capacity, renovation was also directed at
\nsupporting future development.<\/p>\n
The renovation project was conducted by three contractors:
\nTekken, PT Wijaya Karya and PT Udinda Aneka Sarana Joint
\nOperation. (hhr)<\/p>",
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