Trial run for Perumka's new express train

JAKARTA (JP): The state rail company Perumka will launch today a trial run of the JS-950, an express train capable of traveling between Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java, in just nine hours.

Perumka has been preparing the project, together with the JB- 250 express train linking Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, in just two hours, for the past two years. The new train services will be officially launched on Aug. 17, the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

The JS-960, running on new tracks along Java's northern coastline, will have a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The train is equipped with recent technological innovations, including bolsterless bogies, which will enable it to reach its maximum speed while providing a smoother ride to passengers; an air braking system with disc brakes; and strong, watertight pneumatic doors designed to maximize safety.

The locomotives for the express trains were supplied by General Electric of the United States.

A General Electric executive in Indonesia, Ram K. Sharma, told reporters recently that Perumka had ordered 27 locomotives for its express train project, of which 12 were delivered on July 12.

Meanwhile, the trains' passenger cars, manufactured by the state-owned PT Inka, have been designed to minimize external noise and heat. Each car is equipped with two air-conditioning units.

The seats, each of which is ergonomically designed and reclining, are installed in a two-two and two-one configuration. Each car is equipped with two television monitors, six speakers, a power amplifier and three stabilizers. The operation of the electronic equipment is centralized in the dining car.

A Perumka spokesman, Suprapto, said in Bandung yesterday that the train which will make the trip today will consist of one locomotive and 17 cars.

"We hope people living near the tracks and in the vicinity of the crossings will be more careful. But we have also improved security and taken extra safety measures," he said.

The JS-950 is scheduled to depart from Gambir station at 8 p.m. this evening and to arrive in Surabaya's Pasar Turi station at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The locomotive hauling the JS-950 is equipped with a 2,000 horsepower engine. (pet/icn)