Monorail developer proposes route change

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.