Double-track work to start in 2006

Double-track work to start in 2006

TANGERANG: The construction of a 23.9-kilometer double-track
railway linking Serpong in Tangerang with Tanah Abang in Central
Jakarta will start in 2006, said Tangerang Development Planning
Board (Bappeda) official Deden Hidayat.

"The double-track railway will be an alternative to roads
heading to Jakarta from Tangerang that are heavily congested," he
said on Monday.

The Rp 1.72 trillion (US$189 million) construction will be
fully overseen by state-run PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), while
the regency will build a railway station in Serpong.

People living in housing complexes in Serpong and Bintaro will
not have to drive their cars to their offices in Jakarta as PT
KAI will also build five new stations along the railway.

"Each station will have parking lots for commuters," Deden
said.

He added that the plan to build the railway had been included
in the Greater Jakarta master plan on transportation. -- JP