News

West Sumatra Railroad Grand Plan

10 April 2019

Most of the reactivation projects have been budgeted by the central government in the 2018-2022 Regime. The sure path is the Haru-Nareh intersection, which was just inaugurated a while ago, and the Aie-Haru Intersection will be done this year. Then proceed with Nareh-Sungai Limau and Sawahlunto-Muaro Kalaban. While for Kayu Tanam-Padang Panjang, it is still the process of preparing the Feasibility Study (FS) and Detail Engineering Design (DED). (Heri Nofiardi — Head of the West Sumatra Transportation Service)

 

 

 

PADANG, HARIANHALUAN.COM — A big plan has been prepared to reactivate the railway line (KA) in West Sumatra. Hundreds of kilometers of Dutch heritage lines stretching from the west to east coast of West Sumatra will be revived. At least there are three main routes that will be revived to the south, north and east of West Sumatra, and three branches to the south.

 

The Head of the West Sumatra Transportation Agency, Heri Nofiardi, was met at his office on Friday (5/4) explaining, starting from the Simpang Haru Station point, the route was revived towards Pulau Aie Station until the end at Muaro Station. Then from Simpang Haru there is also a crossing path on Bukit Putuih and forming two lanes, southwest towards Teluk Bayur, and northward past Kampung Jua to end in Indarung.

 

Next, the Simpang Haru Station goes north, the railway line intersects at Duku Station. From there, going eastward to the train will be brought to the Minangkabau International Airport (BIM). Continue to the north which returns to cross in Lubuk Alung. From Lubuk Alung heading southwest, the train will enter the Pariaman-Nareh-Sungai Limau line, until it ends at Pasaman Harbor.

 

"While going east, from Lubuk Alung will continue to Kayu Tanam, then Anai Valley, and stop at Padang Panjang. In Padang Panjang, the railway line will again be divided into two. In the direction of Bukittinggi, the railway will continue until Payakumbuh and end at Limbanang Station, "he said.

 

While in the opposite direction, said Heri, the railway line will circle Lake Singkarak, past Sawahlunto, Solok, Muaro Kalaban, Padang Sibusuk, and Silokek. From there, feeder lines will be built towards Logas Station, Riau. Logas Station itself is projected as one of the routes to Trans Sumatra Railway, which is another major government plan.

 

"The Trans Sumatra Line itself is actually only a discourse. So, it will not be realized in the near future. But if it is realized later, this route will cover the Sumatra region from north to south. Starting from Aceh to Lampung," Heri said.

 

This year, the Simpang Haru-Aie Island line was the first to be reactivated. The work is planned to begin this May, and is targeted to be completed by the end of 2019. While the follow-up project, the Nareh-Sungai Limau line is likely to be carried out next year.

"Most of these reactivation projects have been budgeted by the central government in the 2018-2022 Strategic Plan (Restra). The exact pathway is the Haru-Nareh Intersection, which was just inaugurated some time ago, and the Aie Island Haru intersection, which will be done this year Then proceed with Nareh-Sungai Limau and Sawahlunto-Muaro Kalaban, while the Kayu Tanam-Padang Panjang route, is currently still in the process of formulating the Feasibility Study (FS) and Detail Engineering Design (DED), so it has not entered Restra, "he said.

 

Nevertheless, for the Padang Panjang-Bukittinggi-Payakumbuh line and the Muaro Kalaban-Silokek-Logas shortcut path Bukit Putuih-Solok has actually entered Restra. However, it is uncertain when the process will begin. Then, there is also a shortcut path for Bukit Putuih-Solok, which is currently still limited to discourse.

 

Heri said, specifically for the Tanam-Padang Panjang-Bukittinggi Wood lane, it would later use Metro Capsule technology. Initially, the government intends to use gear technology to deal with the extreme slope along the Padang Panjang-Bukittinggi line. But unfortunately, the technology is no longer produced.

 

"Eventually it was replaced with Metro Capsule which uses rubber wheels and can operate on a 10 percent slope. The Metro Capsule Capsule center station will later be built in Kayu Tanam," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of West Sumatra's APP Dishub Division, Wanri, on the same occasion said, besides reactivating the railway line, this year there will also be renovations and construction of several stations, such as Basko Station, Alai Station, and Kalek Wood Station. In addition, along with the reactivation of the Aie-Haru Island intersection, the government also plans to rehabilitate the old station of Aie Island without losing its historical elements.

 

"In addition, we also plan to close illegal plot crossings along the Padang-Pariaman route. To that end, there are plans from Padang City Government to build collector roads along the tracks, so that people do not need to cross at the level crossing. "It still needs to be discussed again with the Padang City Government," he said.

 

However, behind all these plans, Wanri also did not deny that there were several obstacles that might hamper the railway line reactivation project. One of them is a classic problem that often appears in West Sumatra, namely land problems. However, he argues that this land case will not affect the project as a whole.

 

"The land along the railway line is actually owned by PT KAI. Indeed, there are some people who have built buildings on the land, but they have also previously been bound by an agreement with PT KAI. Where, when needed, PT KAI may take So, later PT KAI will only curb it. For reactivation, I don't think there will be a problem. It's different if the construction of new lines, such as the construction of the BIM line. Now, there needs to be land acquisition, "Wanri said.

 

Other problems that might hamper are those related to the construction of the Shortcut Bukit Putuih-Solok line. This is because the route must penetrate protected forests. "Once again, the shortcut path is only limited and may not be done in the near future. Still need a deep study," Wanri said.

 

However, he hopes that this reactivation project can run smoothly. The reason is that reactivation of the railway line is an accurate solution in overcoming traffic jams that occur in West Sumatra.

 

"We take the example of the Padang-Bukittinggi highway. The number of vehicles passing through the route can reach 1,700 vehicles per hour on weekdays and 2,300 vehicles per hour on holidays. If the reactivation project is completed, then the congestion rate in West Sumatra will be reduced," he said. (h / mg-and)

 

Source: https://www.harianhaluan.com/news/detail/73235/rencana-besar-kereta-api-sumbar/1

Other News