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)