Train service proposed on Sumatra-Malaysia bridge

Train service proposed on Sumatra-Malaysia bridge

JAKARTA (JP): The government has asked the developer of the
planned cross-border bridge linking northern Sumatra and Malaysia
to incorporate railroad tracks.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said here
yesterday that a railroad was essential to fulfill passenger and
cargo traffic demands between the two countries.

Developers of the interisland bridge connecting the western
part of Java and southern tip of Sumatra should also link the
train services in Java and Sumatra.

"A train service is promising," he said during a seminar on
rail services. "We have to take the opportunity before it is
grabbed by other (foreign) investors."

The president of state-owned railroad company Perumka, Soemino
Eko Saputro, said he had proposed that the consortia planning to
develop the bridges invite his company to assist in the
construction design.

Last August, the government agreed to the construction of a
95-kilometer bridge connecting the Malaysian peninsula and
Sumatra.

The bridge will be built by a private consortium of Indonesia-
Malaysian firms including PT Malindo Transmadu -- which is partly
owned by Siti Hedijati Herijadi Prabowo, Soeharto's second
daughter -- and Malaysia's Renong Sdn. Bhd.

The government also approved last year a proposal to build a
60-kilometer bridge linking Java and Sumatra, Indonesia's two
most developed and populous islands.

The planned bridge will start in Merak, on the western tip of
West Java, and end in the Penengahan district, in the southern
part of the Lampung province.

A different developer is also planning another interisland
bridge to link Java and Madura Island.

Dhanutirto said yesterday that during the sixth five-year
development plan period (Repelita VI), which will end in March
1999, railroad and train issues needed some Rp 2.64 trillion
(US$677 million) in investments and funding.

He said the government's schedule was to develop 5,151
kilometers of railroad tracks during Repelita VI. Railroad
infrastructure was expected to span 7,660 km by the end of
Repelita X.

By the end of Repelita V, train services transported 72.8
million passengers and 15.5 tons of cargo. Last year, the figures
had reached 154 million passengers and 17.3 tons of cargo, he
said.

Railroad transportation will be responsible for 6.13 percent
and 6.91 percent for passenger and cargo traffic, respectively,
in Repelita VI. By the end of Repelita X, the figures are
expected to reach 15.77 percent for passengers and 20.87 percent
for cargo traffic. (icn)