Planning For Imports Of Used Trains From Japan Will Still Be Discussed Next Monday

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment or Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan supports the plan to import the former electric rail train or KRL planned by PT Kereta Commut Indonesia (KCI). According to Luhut, the plan must be carried out immediately. "We really have to do it in the near future (a used KRL import from Japan), 10 carriages," said Luhut when met by the media crew at his office, Jakarta, Friday, March 3. Luhut said, regarding the import plan will be discussed again on Monday, March 6. He appealed to no more errors in the planning, so we have to import used trains. "There used to be imported used goods, now used goods? So, we said, why not make plans so as not to import. Indeed, the money is slightly more expensive, right, the money is rotated domestically," he said. Because of the problem of time it is not possible, Luhut said, the government will ask the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) to conduct audits. "So, the good is not seen through a third hand, so that the price is correct. Don't let there be price deviations," he added. Previously, PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) had ordered 16 new train sets (trainsets) worth Rp4 trillion to PT INKA to increase the fleet and increase transport capacity. Even so, this state-owned transportation still requires the purchase of used trains. The initial agreement (MoU) of KAI with INKA was signed in 2022. The new train can only be operated in 2025-2026. In addition to buying new trains, the Commuter train also plans to buy used trains starting this year to replace several carriages that will be retired this year. "The number of trains to be conserved is as much as 10 (series) in 2023 and 19 (series) in 2024," said Vice President Corporate Corporate KAI Commuter Anne Purba in an official statement, Friday, March 3.

Anne admitted that she had carried out the Forum Group Discussion (FGD) first by involving stakeholders from the ministry, observers, to the community of commuterline users in this plan to purchase new and used trains. "As a result, the import of trains is not the main choice to replace the conserved trains, there are other options by upgrading the technology on the train to be conserved, it's just that this choice takes 1-2 years for the work," he said. According to Anne, the used train will not be directly used for KRL operations. His party first upgraded the imported train carriages. "For example, replacing the air conditioner (AC) on the train, benches on each train with goods that have a high TKDN (Inter Component Level) level," he said.