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PARTICIPATING IN RAILWAY CIVILIZATION DEVELOPMENT

10 April 2019

 

"The construction of our railways (MRT and LRT) is actually too late (compared to other countries). If yesterday the development was blamed as one of the causes of natural congestion. Because, our development is late and has to be built together." (Hermanto Dwiatmoko, Chairperson of the Indonesian Railways Society)

 

HISTORY OF RECORDING, INDONESIAN RAILWAY CONTINUES LONG TRAVEL. BEGINNING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRST TRAIN RELLE ON JUNE 17, 1864, IN THE NETHERLANDS OF COLLECTION. THE FIRST TRAIN RELLE IN THE WATER SOIL IS BUILT ALWAYS ALMOST 25 KILOMETERS, CONNECTING SEMARANG (KEMIJEN) WITH THE RESPONSIBLE VILLAGE.

 

As time goes by, rail-based transportation continues to grow rapidly until now. Even in March 2019, a new round of rail-based transportation will begin soon. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, inaugurated the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) train, which will be predicted will become a new culture in transportation.

 

The latest rail-based transportation development is seen by the General Chair of the Indonesian Railways Society (MASKA) Hermanto Dwiatmoko as a late development. "The construction of our train is actually too late. If yesterday the development was blamed as one of the causes of congestion, naturally. Because, our development is late and has to be built together, "he told Indonesian Transportation in Jakarta some time ago.

 

Even though it's too late, continued Hermanto, this is still better than nothing. This is because rail-based mass transportation is one of the best solutions in reducing congestion rates in Jakarta.

 

Hermanto said, building an urban train is not an easy job. Because, the construction of urban railways is usually always a loss and is generally carried out with government intervention / subsidies. In the railroad industry, ticket revenues only cover 40 percent. To fulfill the rest, you have to find another way, one way is to try advertising at the station and on the train.

 

Trans Sulawesi Line

On the other hand, the government is building the Trans Sulawesi railway. The target of the 44-kilometer line on the Barru-Palanro route will be completed this year and will start operating at the end of 2019. Responding to this, Hermanto said that infrastructure development was done to anticipate civilization.

 

"In developed cities the goods already exist first, then the infrastructure facilitates. But this concept also applies the opposite. Infrastructure is established first, then it will attract the market or create demand. Well, Trans Sulawesi is expected to attract industrial growth and drive the economy of the surrounding area. Now maybe you haven't seen what was lifted. But later it will follow, "he explained.

 

He continued, this project does have risks. But it would be more unfortunate if the construction was done when it was too late. "If we are too late to build, later the land price will be more expensive. Infrastructure lags behind, the price is expensive too. Building it must think of tens to hundreds of years in the future, "he continued.

 

The Trans Sulawesi train will also connect areas in Sulawesi with ports, namely Makassar New Port. The connectivity created is believed to give birth to new industries in the region. Thus, in the end the existence of the Trans Sulawesi train will be beneficial.

 

Hermanto believes that the more the construction of transportation infrastructure will increase the market itself. That is, it will increase the number of users of public transportation, reduce congestion, and most importantly, reduce air pollution. However, the increase in mass transportation still has conditions, namely integrated.

 

Encourage Railway Development

 

 

As an organization that positions itself as part of community participation in supporting the progress of the national railway, MASKA routinely holds discussions and recommendations to the government as the regulator. One of the efforts is to hold a socialization of railways.

 

Railwaytech Indonesia is the largest railway conference and exhibition in Southeast Asia. The event was held for the third time at JIExpo Kemayoran Jakarta on March 20-22 2019. In addition to the exhibition there was also a conference discussing facilities, technology, infrastructure, and train passengers.

 

In addition, MASKA, which is largely a member of the academia and the railroad industry players, also encourages public knowledge about the railroad industry through public lecture courses at national universities.

 

"In Indonesia there are very few railroad consultants. There is, but the person is that again. This is because the experts are lacking. Through forums on transportation, we socialize lessons about railways. "The move is one of MASKA's efforts in building railways in Indonesia," Hermanto concluded.

 

This article was aired on Indonesian Transportation Magazine Edition 35, April-May 2019 Pages 68-69.

Author: Mita A. Hapsari

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