Atma Jaya Catholic University IPP Discussion: KRL Users Ask for Public Needs to Be Prioritised
Jakarta, 27 March 2023 - Institute of Public Policy (IPP) Atma Jaya Catholic University (Unika Atma Jaya) held a Brownbag Discussion on "Import Plan for Commuter Line Replacement Trains and the Challenges of Providing Jabodetabek Public Transportation Services", (Kompas, 27 Maret 2023 Pengguna KRL Minta Kebutuhan Publik Diutamakan - Kompas.id). This discussion presented several speakers, such as Faela Sufa from The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, and Gusti Raganata from the @krlmania community. Unfortunately, the chairman of Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), Faisol Riza, and Vice President Corporate Secretary of PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), Anne Purba, were unable to attend because they were attending a hearing at the DPR RI on the same topic.
Penumpang kereta rel listrik relasi Jakarta Bekasi tengah bersiap berangkat menggunakan kereta rel listrik yang tiba di Stasiun Manggarai, Jakarta Selatan, pada Jumat (5/4/2019) siang.
The discussion discusses the polemic regarding the plan to import train sets from Japan. PT KCI plans to replace 29 locally produced trains that are old and must be retired by purchasing 10 new trains. Meanwhile, PT KCI has agreed to buy 16 trains from PT INKA, but the delivery can only be done in 2025 and 2026. There is a gap year between the trains being retired and the completion of the order from PT INKA, so there will only be 69 trains remaining. Consumers will suffer losses as the trains are getting full as the number of passengers continues to increase.
Faela Sufa, Director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia, said that public demand for new KRL carriages is very important and must be met. If PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) cannot fulfil the demand, it will have to import used train cars within a certain period of time with a supporting plan of replacing the cars every few years. Although the price of second-hand train cars tends to be cheap, the maintenance cost is much higher, so operators have to check their operational feasibility every day. PT KCI and the government should carefully assess the useful life of second-hand trains and clarify plans for the future of the national railway.
The KRL Mania community also stated that the import cannot be delayed any longer because if the aging trains are not replaced, there will only be 69 trains left, which will result in a larger number of passengers not being transported. Therefore, the import plan must continue with an improved train renewal plan to improve the quality of KRL services.
