Planning To Build A Train Without A Rail At IKN, This Is A Row Of Challenges

Deputy for Facilities and Infrastructure of OIKN Silvia Hakim said there were a number of challenges to adopt railless rail technology in the National Capital (IKN) of the Archipelago.

Silvia admitted that one of the challenges faced was related to the contour at IKN itself which was hilly.

"Actually (the train) will need a special corridor to operate. Second, we make sure the contours from (IKN) themselves are indeed very hilly, then they are not flat like other cities. So, this is what we always consider whether it can be implemented properly or not," said Silvia to reporters in The Westin, Jakarta, Monday, January 15.

Regarding the challenges of contour at IKN, Silvia said that her party continues to communicate with the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub). As for its implementation, he said it was impossible for the mode of transportation to be implemented in all places.

"That's why we have given a lot of input to the Ministry of Transportation, which, really, is the most suitable corridor if it is to be implemented. So, it is impossible in all places. And this is still in the experimental stage, the initial stage," he said.

Even so, continued Silvia, her party did not deny that there was a lot of interest from foreign countries to work on the project, one of which was from China.

"That's right. We did get a lot of LoI (for the project), but it happened that the Minister of Transportation (Menhub) had conducted an assessment with China. And what we have got this technology has been implemented in China," he said.

For your information, the Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi invited China to build an Autonomous Train or Automated Rail Transit (ART) at IKM, East Kalimantan.

This cooperation opportunity was conveyed by Budi when meeting with the Minister of Transportation of the People's Republic of China Li Xiaopeng in Beijing City, China, Friday, January 12.

Budi said that in general his meeting with Li Xiaopeng discussed opportunities for increased bilateral cooperation in the transportation sector.

Regarding the construction of an Autonomous Train or ATR at IKN, Budi admitted that he had conducted an assessment with the Chinese through the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). He said the Indonesian government wanted to use a set of Autonomous Trains from CRRC for its operation at IKN.

"A train set consists of three carriages, with a capacity of 307 passengers, has an operational speed of 40 km per hour and a maximum speed of 70 km per hour," he said in an official statement, Friday, January 12.

According to Budi, the CRRC welcomes the wishes of the Indonesian government. Budi said, the CRRC will bring an autonomous train unit to Indonesia as an exhibition storefront to be held at IKN around July 2024.

"This is a demonstration of the capabilities of the Autonomous Train," he said.