Hopefully you’re already used to disappointing news about Jakarta’s Light Rail Transit system (LRT) because here’s some more — officials are now saying it won’t be ready until December (and that’s assuming there are no further delays)
The first phase of the Jakarta LRT, which links up North Jakarta’s Kelapa Gading with the new Velodrome in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, was supposed to be fully operational before the start of this month’s Asian Games. However, a trial run of the trains hasn’t even been conducted yet, leading Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to finally concede that the LRT won’t be ready in time for the massive regional sporting competition starts that starts this Saturday.
In the interest of safety, it’s probably for the best that the LRT is no longer being rushed so that officials have enough time to carry thorough safety checks before it’s open to the public, starting with a month-long trial run.
“So anything that’s not optimized or are potentially problematic, we’ll fix. We’ll complete the remaining architectural finishings, and electric and mechanical features that may not have been completed by the trial. So in September we’ll review [the trial] and then we’ll carry out a commissioning test to make sure all integrated systems are go. God willing, it’ll be ready in December,” LRT Jakarta Project Director Iwan Takwin told Detik yesterday.
Construction of the first phase’s all six stations, including a train depot, is expected to also be completed by December. Because they were prioritized in order to meet the Asian Games deadline, only two stations, Mal Kelapa Gading and Velodrome, have reportedly been completed so far.
The completion of the LRT was supposed to be one of the Jakarta administration’s most crucial infrastructure accomplishments ahead of the Asian Games as it was always intended to be ready in time to transport passengers during the major sporting event. In December, Governor Anies said he was confident that the Kelapa Gading-Velodrome line would at least be operational by July (obviously that didn’t happen) while Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said he was pessimistic that it would be ready for the games at all.
The LRT is funded and constructed in two parts: the lines within Jakarta (including Kelapa Gading-Velodrome) are being built by the Jakarta Provincial Government, while the lines connecting Jakarta to its satellite cities of Depok, Bogor and Bekasi are being built by PT Adhi Karya, a state-owned infrastructure construction firm.
The Jakarta LRT construction began again under former Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo’s term in 2015 following lengthy legal issues with previous tender winners. When completed, the LRT will link up with other rail-based transportation systems like the existing KRL Commuterline and the MRT, the first phase of which is estimated for completion in early 2019.
