Minister Of Transportation Budi Invites China To Work On IKN Autonomous Trains

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Transportation)

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi invited China to build an Autonomous Train or Automated Rail Transit (ART) in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN), 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 ability of the Autonomous Train," he explained.

Budi also asked for the support of the Chinese government to invite private parties to invest in railway projects in big cities in Indonesia such as Bandung, Semarang, and Makassar.

Pasalnya, Budi mengatakan China dan Indonesia memiliki hubungan yang baik dan berkomitmen untuk terus meningkatkan kerja sama pengembangan infrastruktur transportasi nasional.

The Jakarta-Bandung Quick Train is a form of commitment to bilateral cooperation, which has now been operated and has received high enthusiasm from the community. This possibility is a potential project to be developed in the future," he said.