Upgrade trains for traffic relief

There have been several options discussed about trying to deal with the gridlock traffic in Jakarta. Notable ideas are a light rail system and the busway. There is another option not yet discussed -- a train system.

At the moment, the Bogor to Jakarta and Bekasi to Jakarta lines transport thousands or tens of thousands of people between the cities each day. At the moment, there is a railway line to Tanggerang but the passenger services are so few that people often congregate around the railway lines.

Instead of building new infrastructure, could it be possible to use the Tanggerang to Jakarta section of the railway line with trains departing every 20 minutes and have a 200-meter to 300- meter track linking the line to Kota station? Railway lines that exist may have to be upgraded and trains purchased and current freight trains discontinued or run at night time, but the infrastructure exists.

MARK OGILVIE Jakarta