Manggarai Station Will Have 18 Active Lines To Live Long-distance Trains To Bandara Trains

Illustration of Manggarai Station. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Director General of Railways (DJKA) of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) Zulfikri said that the development of Manggarai Station as the first and largest central station in Indonesia will be the new epicenter that will overcome commuter rail services in the Jabodetabek agglomeration area.

"With only 8 routes for KRL and 2 routes for intercity trains, Manggarai Station must bear the burden of 726 train trips per day with a total of 1.2 million passengers, causing the buildup and queue of trains to enter Manggarai Station," said Zulfikri as reported by ANTARA, Thursday 7 July.

Therefore, he continued, there are urgent needs and need to be completed by the Directorate General of Railways through the development of Manggarai Station.

He said that later Manggarai Station would have 18 active lanes to serve KRL, long-distance trains, and airport trains.

The station will also be equipped with a large concourse area to support passenger mobility.

Zulfikri realized that there would be discomfort during the construction process. Moreover, there will still be several more stages that need to be carried out before Manggarai Station is finally completed.

After Switch Over (SO) 5, there will still be SO 6 which will be implemented in October 2023, until SO 8 which is planned for July 2025 before Manggarai Station is fully operational.

"Therefore, we hope that our colleagues can understand the ongoing development and be patient about the conditions experienced to welcome the more magnificent and comfortable Manggarai Station," he said.

His party will synergize with local governments and relevant stakeholders to organize the environment around Manggarai Station to support the operation of this station.

"We continue to coordinate with the DKI Jakarta Regional Government regarding access and spatial planning around Manggarai Station to maximize the function of the station as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) area on an area of 2.4 hectares," he said.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Didiek Hartantyo added that his staff is ready to support the development of Manggarai Station.

"We will seek to optimize infrastructure, including the platform at Manggarai Station to support rail operations so that development can run smoothly," said Didiek.

Regarding the addition of CCTV cameras proposed by the community, Didiek said that currently his party already has a camera with face recognition technology to reduce the level of crime and sexual harassment at stations and trains.

He also explained that KAI Group is ready to support by adding feeder trains for KRL and increasing transportation capacity to reduce the accumulation of passengers at Manggarai Station.

In addition, Didiek also ensured that the KAI Group had human resources and resources ready to support the upgrade plan.

"We will also maximize the operations of Matraman Station, which has been completed as an alternative for passengers other than Manggarai Station and Jatinegara Station," he said.