JAKARTA (JP): The Tanah Abang-Serpong electric train started

JAKARTA (JP): The Tanah Abang-Serpong electric train started
trial operations on Thursday, making it the first electric train
outside the Jakarta-Bogor line.

The first official passengers included Director General of
Land Transportation Soejono, who said the Jakarta-Serpong
electric train will be fully operational by the end of the month.

The new service will complete the greater Jakarta electric
train link along with the Jatinegara-Bekasi electric train which
will start service soon, Kompas reported yesterday.

According to Soejono, the Tanah Abang-Serpong electric train,
made by BN Holec of Belgium, is still waiting for a power source.

"We may operate air-conditioned cars for our executive
passengers," said Soejono. He added that the Serpong-Sudimara
route is a good candidate for 'executive' service given the
growing number of luxury houses in Serpong, whose residents work
in Jakarta.

Soejono believed that trains are becoming an important mode of
transportation, particularly with the operation of the Manggarai-
Kota railway overpass.

"Soon, there will be one train every six minutes as compared
to one every fifteen minutes, which is the current schedule," he
said.

Ismani, head of the Jakarta branch of the state-owned railway
company Perumka, said around 180,000 passengers use the greater
Jakarta train services every day. Of that number, 40,000 travel
the Jakarta-Serpong line.

The number is a lot higher than the 80,000 passengers measured
a few years ago, said Ismani.

Perumka's technical director Sumino Eko Saputro said the
company will receive 25 electric trains from BN Holec, whose
delivery will be completed in 1996.

"Ten of them will be assembled by PT Inka," said Sumino.

To date, Perumka has 120 electric trains, including one
produced by South Korea's Hyundai. Three of the seven BN Holec
trains, nicknamed the Blue Steel Knights (Satria Baja Biru)
because of their color, have arrived and two of them are now in
operation.

Each of the Rp 8.4-billion (US$3.9 million) blue trains has
eight cars.

With these trains, the Tanah Abang-Serpong route can now be
covered in 45 minutes, as compared to a car which can take two
hours during rush-hour. The Tanah Abang-Serpong trains originate
from the Sudimara and Rawalumbu stations. (lem)