Perumka speeds up cargo service

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)