Express train begins operation
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday dedicated two sets of locally-built express train cars in connection with the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.
In a modest ceremony held at the Gambir railway station, Central Jakarta, Soeharto poured fresh water out of a traditional drinking flask, while citing the hope that the two trains will operate safely.
Soeharto named the trains Argo Bromo Express -- after Mount Bromo in East Java -- and Argo Gede Express -- after Mount Gede in West Java.
The cars are the products of PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka), which is under the supervision of the Agency for the Management of Strategic Industries (BPIS) headed by State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.
In the last two weeks, President Soeharto also dedicated a passenger ship, named Palindo Jaya, which was built by the state- run shipbuilding company PT PAL, another company under BPIS.
Later this month, Soeharto is slated to launch a N-250 short- distance aircraft built by state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN, which is also under BPIS.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday that with the presence of the new express trains with an operating speed of 100 kilometers per hour, the railway company Perumka is expected to better serve as the operator of mass land transportation.
"The operation of these express trains serves as one of Perumka's efforts to anticipate the people's increasing demand for better railway services," Haryanto said.
Commemoration
The Argo Bromo Express train, coded JS-950, serves the route linking Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java, in nine hours, and the Argo Gede Express train, coded JB-250, serves the Jakarta- Bandung, West Java route in two hours.
The president of Perumka, Soemino Eko Saputra, explained that the number 50 incorporated in both trains meant that the trains were launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.
Both trains serve only the executive class, with fares of Rp 90,000 (US$38.5) for a one-way trip on the Jakarta-Surabaya route and Rp 34,000 for the Jakarta-Bandung route.
Each of the trains is pulled by an imported CC-203 locomotive, produced by General Electric of the United States. The locomotive draws 10 locally-built cars, including a dining car and a power car with a generating capacity of 500 kilo volt amperes of electricity. Each passenger car has 50 seats, two toilets and a card telephone booth.
Representatives of the Madiun, East Java-based Inka said 77 percent of the contract value for building the cars was spent locally. The value of the contract was Rp 43.5 billion (19.4 million) for 31 cars.
A number of local companies have been involved in the production of the cars, including the state-run military- equipment manufacturer, PT Pindad; the state-run steel company, PT Krakatau Steel; PT Aneka Kimia; PT Padi Handalan, and PT Putera Indonesia.
Inka officials claimed the new cars followed a concept of "speed, comfort and beauty". The trains, which can run at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, are supported by mild steel (SS-400) car bodies with fabricated bogies of type NT-60, an air brake system of Knorr KE-1C distribution valves and AAR- 10A automated inter-car couplers.
Minister Haryanto said the preparation activities to support the operation of the express trains had been carried out since 1992.
"A number of efforts have been made to enhance the role of Perumka in our land transportation by improving the quality of railway tracks, installing more electric signals and building double tracks so that we can increase the frequency of train travel," Haryanto said.
Currently, the government, through three state-run companies under the Ministry of Public Works -- PT Adhi Karya, PT Hutama Karya and PT Wijaya Karya -- is putting in double tracks along the 30-kilometer Jakarta-Bogor, West Java, route at a total cost of Rp 74 billion. (rid)