Green Line and Cikampek KRL Projects Prioritised, Sukabumi Urged to Be Patient

The hopes of Sukabumi residents to soon enjoy KRL services appear to require further patience. The government has signalled that the development of the commuter line network in the near term will prioritise the Green Line to Tangerang and the Cikarang-Cikampek extension over the electrification project to Sukabumi. This priority emerged during ongoing discussions regarding the development of the commuter line network. The government is mapping out which projects to advance first, in line with changes to the railway infrastructure management scheme. Currently, the focus remains on two corridors that support Jakarta. ‘The main focus is still on the Green Line, then Cikarang-Cikampek,’ said Director General of Railways at the Ministry of Transportation, Allan Tandiono, on Saturday. His statement indicates that the Bogor-Sukabumi electrification plan, previously mentioned by PT Kereta Api Indonesia, is not a near-term priority. KAI had earlier revealed plans to extend KRL services to Sukabumi as part of the Greater Jakarta Commuter Line network expansion. Meanwhile, the government is also preparing changes to the governance of railway infrastructure development. Going forward, the construction of infrastructure will no longer be the primary domain of the Directorate General of Railways but will be handed over to PT KAI as the operator. ‘In the future, we will hand this over to KAI as the operator. Our role will be purely as a regulator,’ said Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi. Under this scheme, the planning and execution of projects, including procurement and tenders, will be managed by the state-owned railway company. The government emphasised that its role will shift to supervision to avoid overlapping authority. ‘Yes, let KAI handle the tenders. We will just supervise, so there is no confusion or passing of responsibility. The business considerations will be KAI’s,’ Dudy said.