'US$180m new German trains won't solve transportation woes'

'US$180m new German trains won't solve transportation woes'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

The Ministry of Transportation received sharp criticism on
Saturday for its plan to purchase 50 new electric trains from
Germany at US$180 million for operation in Greater Jakarta, as an
observer warned that the scheme would not solve the
transportation problems if the ministry's poor management was not
addressed.

"The Ministry of Transportation must cancel its plan to buy
the trains," Taufik Hidayat, executive director of Indonesian
Railway Watch, told The Jakarta Post.

"The ministry must first improve the state railway firm, PT
KAI's, poor performance and inefficient management. Otherwise,
any new project will only worsen conditions, resulting in poorer
service to consumers," he said.

Taufik attributed the poor service and inefficient management
to PT KAI's monopoly of operations, maintenance, as well
procurement of the trains.

"As a result of such a monopoly, there has been a conflict of
interests and an overlapping of functions as all the work is
conducted by the government, which is supposed to act merely as
regulator," Taufik said over the phone.

The Ministry of Transportation revealed on Friday that it
planned to buy new 50 electric trains from Germany for US$180
million. Each train is valued at US$3.6 million. Ten of the
trains are slated to arrive in the middle of next year, Antara
reported.

"All trains are new and they will serve the Greater Jakarta
area. These electric trains are in line with the project to
construct double tracks linking Cikarang (in Bekasi) to Manggarai
(South Jakarta)," said Harris Fabillah, director of the railway
division of the Land Transportation Directorate at the Ministry
of Transportation.

Harris said every train had four cars, which would mean there
would be an additional 200 new cars in operation, while the
construction of double tracks was necessary given that Greater
Jakarta commuters would need more electric trains to transport
them every day.

A survey conducted by PT KAI this year shows that passenger
demand in Greater Jakarta hovers at more than 450,000 people per
day requiring at least 260 cars. However, KAI has 352 passenger
cars of which only 228 train cars are fit for operation, while
the rest are undergoing repairs at its service centers in Bukit
Duri and Balai Yasa Manggarai, both in South Jakarta.

Taufik warned that the new trains would cause additional
problems in the future as the Ministry had not yet prepared the
related regulations and infrastructure for their operation.

"There are various electric trains operating in Greater
Jakarta. Each has a different system and maintenance. Another
type of train with another system would only create further
burdens," he said.

Besides, Taufik also contended that the German trains were too
expensive. "There is a Japanese company offering a train for only
$2.4 million," he said.

According to Taufik, the purchase of the trains is also
against the Ministry's plan to privatize PT KAI.

"If the government is serious about the privatization, it must
not handle the train procurement," he said.

The Ministry of Transportation's research and development
office is working on a draft to revise Law No. 13/1992 on
Indonesian railway management. The revision includes a
privatization program to create a more competitive climate for
the business, which in turn will lead to efficiency and attract
new investment.

"We admit that our services have failed to satisfy our
customers due to there being only a single player, PT KAI,"
Harris asserted.

Besides, Harris said, the revision of the law would also focus
on the consumers' rights to proper services.

Harris also remarked that his ministry planned to build a new
depot for electric trains in Depok, West Java, early next year.

The tender for the depot construction will be held on Monday,
he said.