Perumka speeds up cargo service

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned railway company Perumka is planning to slash travel time on its Jakarta-Surabaya cargo route with the operation of a faster train.

Perumka's general manager in Jakarta, Eddy Sasongko, said here Wednesday that the company began trial operations last week.

"We want to improve the cargo service by cutting travel time by two hours to just 11 hours on the Jakarta-Surabaya route," he said.

He said the service was currently held once a day but would be increased to two or three times daily if necessary.

"After approval from the government, we will raise the tariff as the service has improved," he said, adding that the precise rate of the tariff increase had yet to be determined.

Current cargo tariffs are set at Rp 408,000 per full 40-feet container and Rp 163,000 per empty 40-feet container.

The cargo train departs from Kota station at 5:45 p.m. and to arrive at Surabaya's Pasar Turi station in the next morning.

Perumka also operates the Argo Bromo passenger train between Jakarta and Surabaya which takes just nine hours.

Sasongko said Perumka in the greater Jakarta operation area suffered Rp 400,000 in losses per day due to vandalism.

"It's usual for us to have broken windows. At least 20 car windows are broken everyday in the greater Jakarta operation area alone."

He said most of the windows were broken by stones thrown by people along the route in Jakarta, Brebes and Semarang in Central Java, and Bojonegoro and Surabaya in East Java. (icn)