Indonesian-Made Trains Enter Australia: How Strong Is INKA's Industrial Power?

Two large locomotive base structures have left Indonesia for Australia. The shipment from the Surabaya Container Terminal, East Java, on Friday (10/7/2026), was not merely a transfer of goods between ports. Behind it lies a message that Indonesia’s railway manufacturing capability is beginning to find a place in the global industrial supply chain.

PT Industri Kereta Api, or PT INKA (Persero), shipped two locomotive platforms to UGL RS Pty Limited in Australia. These two products are the 17th and 18th units from a contract for 50 units signed in 2021, worth more than Rp100 billion.

PT INKA Commissioner Sangap Surbakti said the shipment demonstrates that national railway manufacturing products can not only be used domestically but are also accepted in the international market. ‘This delivery is an important achievement for INKA because it shows that national railway manufacturing products are not only used in Indonesia but can also be accepted by the international market,’ Sangap said in Madiun on Saturday (11/7/2026). He added that the success was inseparable from the work of INKA employees and the support of various stakeholders involved in the production and shipment process.

However, the term locomotive platform needs to be understood precisely. The products sent to Australia are not complete, ready-to-operate locomotives, but rather base structures or underframes without bogie installations and coupling devices. These structures will become part of C44ESACi diesel-electric locomotives, with final completion carried out by UGL in Australia.

This explanation does not diminish the weight of INKA’s achievement. On the contrary, the ability to produce locomotive main structures according to the design, specifications, dimensional tolerances, and quality control of a foreign partner shows that Indonesian industry has been able to enter the international manufacturing division of labour.

The contract is also not a one-off transaction. INKA began shipping the first two units in February 2025. The entire order of 50 units is scheduled to be delivered in stages until 2028. The arrival of the 18th unit indicates that the project is continuing and has not stopped at trial deliveries.

As of July 2026, INKA stated that it has shipped more than 1,000 freight wagons and dozens of locomotive platforms to support railway activities in Australia and New Zealand. This achievement makes the Pacific region one of the most important export showcases for the Indonesian railway industry.