Prabowo Aims to Build Trans-Sumatra Railway from Lampung to Aceh

President Prabowo Subianto wants the Trans-Sumatra Railway to be built soon, hoping the route will connect Lampung to Aceh. The Trans-Sumatra Railway, Prabowo said, is part of the government’s effort to strengthen national connectivity through rail transport. “The Trans-Sumatra Railway from Bandar Lampung, the southernmost point at Bakauheni, to the northernmost point,” Prabowo said in Semarang, Central Java, on Thursday, 30 July 2026, as broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat.

In addition to developing the Trans-Sumatra railway line, Prabowo said the government also plans to begin construction of the Trans-Kalimantan railway route. He even expressed hope that the Trans-Sumatra Railway and Trans-Kalimantan Railway projects could start simultaneously if possible. “After the Trans-Sumatra, later the Trans-Kalimantan. If possible, we will start them together,” said the Gerindra Party chairman.

Prabowo stated he wants PT Kereta Api Indonesia to continue growing as a transport company so it can become more modern and reach more areas of Indonesia. He stressed that railway services must also serve the people, particularly those on low incomes. Therefore, he hopes railway services will not only focus on big cities but also reach regions and small towns. “The railway is directed to help low-income people, so the railway must also serve small towns,” Prabowo said.

In Semarang, Prabowo inaugurated the revitalisation of Semarang Tawang Station in Central Java. The railway station is a historic building that has stood since 1914. Prabowo said Tawang Station is a silent witness to the identity, memory, and historical journey of the Indonesian nation. “Therefore, preserving and maintaining Tawang Station does not only mean preserving and maintaining a building,” he said at the inauguration site on Thursday, 30 July 2026, as broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat. He noted that history records that Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president, used Tawang Station to travel to other regions in carrying out state duties. Prabowo said the Tawang Station, a legacy of the Dutch colonial era, must be preserved. “We did experience a long period of colonisation, but we also used that time to learn, to learn technology, to learn science, to pursue progress,” he said.