Monorail developer proposes change to route
Monorail developer proposes change to route
Bambang Nurbianto
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Developer PT Jakarta Monorail has proposed another change to the
route its monorail lines will take, its second since the US$5.9
million project was launched by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
on June 14.
The developer now proposes building a monorail station
adjacent to the Palmerah railway station, in an area crowded in
peak hours because of heavy traffic and narrow roads.
Originally the station would have been located along Jl.
Gerbang Pemuda with the line running along the road from Jl. Asia
Afrika before turning right onto Jl. Gatot Subroto. With the
change, the line will now run along Jl. Gelora and Jl. Gelora 1
before turning onto Jl. Gatot Subroto.
The city had earlier told the developer to change its original
route along Jl. Pintu I to instead run along Jl. Asia Afrika
before turning left onto Jl. Sudirman.
Company director Sukmawaty Sjukur said the change to the route
would integrate the monorail and commuter trains plying the
Tangerang-Jakarta route via Serpong and Bintaro.
"An integrated transportation system, in this case a monorail
serving business district areas and commuter trains passing
numerous housing complexes, will serve public transportation
users better," she said on Tuesday during a visit by Governor
Sutiyoso to PT Jakarta Monorail office on Jl. Rasuna Said, South
Jakarta.
The new proposal, including other changes on Jl. Lontar, Tanah
Abang, Central Jakarta, has been submitted to the city
administration for approval.
Sukmawaty said the company was trying to avoid acquiring land
along Jl. Lontar because of opposition from residents in the
area.
"We hope the final designs of the two lines will be approved
by the administration on Sept. 17, so that there would be no
delays in the line constructions," she said.
The developer is planning a two-line monorail system, a "green
line" that serves a 14.8-kilometer route in the city's lucrative
business districts of Kuningan, Sudirman and Senayan and has 17
stations, and the "blue line" serving a 12.2-kilometer route from
Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Roxy in West Jakarta, with 13
stations.
The monorail could carry up to 270,000 passengers per day with
fares ranging between Rp 3,500 (38 U.S. cents) and Rp 7,500 for a
one-way trip.
The green line is expected to start operations on Dec. 6,
2006, while the blue line would start in early 2007.
City assistant to the secretary for development affairs IGKG
Suena said he had discussed the proposal with other officials.
"Basically, we will approve the plan that will serve public
transportation users the best," he said.