One Series Of Autonomous Trams Has Arrived In Balikpapan, Ready To Use During The Republic Of Indonesia's Anniversary

ART in IKN (Photo: Ministry of Transportation)

JAKARTA - One Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) trainset or a series of autonomous trams that will be run in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN) has arrived in Balikpapan. Later, the tram will enter IKN in August.

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi said a series that had arrived, namely the Norinco Autonomous Tram (CRRC Zuzhou). The trend arrived in Balikpapan, on July 26, 2024.

Meanwhile, continued Budi, another series of Autonomous Trem CRRC Qingdao Sifang will only arrive at Semayang Harbor, Balikpapan, on July 31, 2024.

"We see an autonomous tram that has arrived in Balikpapan and this is an autonomous tram that will be used at IKN. This autonomous trend is scheduled to enter IKN on August 1, 2024. This is done after the customs acceleration process is complete," he said in an official statement, Wednesday, July 31.

After arriving at IKN in early August, continued Budi, the autonomous tram will be tested internally, then continued with a trial with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on August 5, 2024.

Then, continued Budi, the plan to implement the showcase, aka a demonstration, will be held from October to December 2024.

"I hope all of this process can go according to plan. That way, autonomous trams can already operate at IKN on Independence Day on August 17, according to the direction of the President," he said.

Budi said that the operation of autonomous trams at the initial stage of IKN will function as feeder vehicles for participants of the Indonesian Independence Day ceremony. This mode of transportation will operate on Jalan Sumbu Kebangsaan Barat and Jalan Rabu Kebangsaan Timur IKN with a cruising speed of 40 km per hour.

"Hopefully this autonomous tram can become one of the smart transportation icons in the IKN area. It is also hoped that autonomous trams can be applied in other cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, to Medan," said Budi.

Regarding capacity, Budi said that one autonomous tram trainset has three carriages (cars) with a maximum capacity of 302 passengers. This autonomous trend will operate clockwise, with a headway or a waiting time of about 5 minutes.

The PUPR Ministry will soon build a bus stop to support the operation of autonomous trams. The bus stop to be built is not only useful as a place to climb passengers, but will also function as a place to carry out charging, "he said.