Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya: 2 Years Again, Double Track Of Cirebon-Surabaya Railway Completed

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) inaugurated a double track railroad across the south of Java from Cirebon, Purwokerto, Kroya, Yogyakarta, Solo to Jombang. The total double track of the passage reaches 550 kilometers (km).

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that with the operation of the double track, it would improve connectivity between the three urban agglomerations, namely Jabodetabek-Joglosemar-Gerbangkertasusila.

"The double track railway project, the southern Java route, only leaves about 65 km of work between Jombang-Mojokerto-Wonokromo which is targeted for completion in the next 1 to 2 years," he said, during the 'Soft Launching of Partial Operation of the Double Tracks of the Southern Java Cross', at the Station. Solo Racing, Thursday, October 8th.

Budi explained, if everything has been completed, this route has a total length of about 694 km, stretching from Cirebon-Prupuk-Purwokerto-Kroya-Gembong Kutoarjo-Yogyakarta-Solo-Kedung Banteng-Madiun-Jombang-Mojokerto-Wonokromo-Surabaya.

On the other hand, Budi also appreciated the construction of the South Java railroad track carried out by the nation's children, who were able to build the first double track tunnel in Indonesia. Where there are three tunnels built in this project, namely, the Notog tunnel, the Kebasen tunnel, and the Ijo Tunnel.

Apart from building tunnels, said Budi, the nation's children were also able to build long-span bridges and modern signaling systems.

"This is clear evidence that we have been able to produce great works that should be noted in the history of railways in the country," he explained.

Furthermore, Budi said, the construction of the double track south crossing railway has a very important meaning, not only in terms of economy, mobility of people and logistics distribution, but also in terms of support for government programs related to the development of 5 New Bali destinations, one of which is Borobudur. .

"Support for connectivity to Borobudur by train mode is very important. For this reason, I urge that the railway line towards Borobudur can be completed on time and integrated with this southern Java railway line," he said.

After the construction of the double track railway crossing the northern Java route was completed and fully operational in 2014, the Ministry of Transportation, through the Directorate General of Railways, attempted to accelerate the completion of the double track railway crossing the southern Java route since 2015.

In terms of funding, the construction of the Double Tracks of the Southern Java Crossing Railway comes from State Sharia Securities (SBSN) with a multiyear contract that began in 2013. This SBSN financing scheme is one of the innovative financing schemes the Government has taken to accelerate development amidst the limitations of the State Budget. .

Railway infrastructure projects financed through the SBSN scheme have had a fairly good impact on increasing the level of service of trains from various aspects such as operation, service and safety.

Since operating partially, the results of the construction of the double track railway crossing southern Java have begun to be seen with the increase in the number of intercity train trips from 172 trains per day in 2015 to 291 trains per day in 2019. Along with the increase in passengers, this is also being done also increases the safety, speed and service of trains.

Budi said, the Ministry of Transportation continues to strive to realize reliable, competitive, and value-added national connectivity, one of which is by carrying out development in the railroad sector, because trains are environmentally friendly mass transportation, have a certain schedule, and have a high level of safety.

Furthermore, Budi said, even the budget allocation for railway infrastructure development was the largest in the last two years, namely around Rp. 17 trillion in the 2019 budget year and around Rp. 10 trillion in the 2020 budget year.

For your information, in the event said the Director General of Railways Zulfikri, Director of PT KAI Didik Hartantyo, Head of BPSDM Transportation Agency, and Mayor of Surakarta FX Hadi Rudyatmo were present.