GKR Mangkubumi Wants Railway Line to Bantul Revived

YOGYAKARTA – The daughter of the Yogyakarta Palace, GKR Mangkubumi, has stated her readiness to support the utilisation of Sultanate land if needed for infrastructure development, including transport modes, particularly railway services in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). She even hopes that the railway line will reach Bantul Regency or be restored as it was before, in line with the high demand for public transportation.

“Yes, definitely (facilitating the use of Sultanate land if needed for developing railway services -Ed),” she said recently.

“So how can we work together to develop the stations and the trains themselves to benefit the community. If possible, the trains can go all the way (to Bantul Regency),” she stated.

GKR Mangkubumi conveyed that the railway is one of the favourite transport modes in DIY based on data from the Yogyakarta Railway Operational Area 6. According to her, the high number of passengers often makes the current service capacity crowded, thus requiring further development.

The future development is expected to focus on increasing station capacity and passenger comfort without damaging cultural heritage areas. “We want the stations in Yogyakarta to be better in line with the hopes of the Head of the Railway Operational Area,” she revealed.

In addition to promoting the development of the line, Mangkubumi also opens opportunities for the use of land owned by the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace or Sultan Ground to support public transport infrastructure. She emphasised that the Palace is ready to support the arrangement of transport areas in DIY, including station development and transport mode integration without damaging cultural heritage areas.

“Yes, definitely (palace land can be utilised -Ed),” said GKR Mangkubumi.