Traffic congestion in downtown Jakarta (Source: channelnewsasia.com) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s Jakarta capital city is set to debut its first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in March in the hope of easing traffic jam.
According to the MRT Jakarta company, the first phase of the MRT project is 98.6 percent complete.
When the first phase begins operation in March, 14 trains will be used for daily services from 5 am to midnight while two others remain on standby in case of emergency. The route stretches 15.7 kilometres between Lebak Bulus on the southern outskirts and the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in the downtown area.
Lebak Bulus is a densely populated residential neighbourhood. With public transport, it currently takes commuters around 90 minutes to travel from the southern outskirts to the central business district where many office buildings are located. But with the MRT, the travel time will be an hour shorter.
Manufactured by Japanese firm Nippon Sharyo, each train can accommodate 1,950 passengers and comes with priority seats as well as space for wheelchairs and prams. Travel speeds vary between 80 km/h on elevated tracks and 100 km/h underground.
Investment in the first phase is totalled at 17 trillion rupiad (1.2 billion USD), of which 1 billion USD is borrowed from Japan. Construction on the first line started in 2013, while work on the second will begin next month.
This year, MRT Jakarta is expected to serve 65,000 passengers a day, thus helping reduce traffic congestions in the capital city.-VNA
VNA
