The railway infrastructure that will span from the eastern to the western part of the capital city must be determined immediately by the Jakarta railway transportation master plan.

This is done to prevent Jakarta Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) overlapping, which are planned to be commence construction by 2020.

Infrastructure Director of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) of the Transportation Ministry Edi Nursalam emphasised that the Jakarta Transportation Agency must propose a railway transportation master plan to the Transportation Ministry.

“We must sit together. We have the Greater Jakarta Transportation Master Plan (RITJ) and the Railroad Master Plan (Ritnas), they must be synchronised [with the railway transportation master plan]. So, the Jakarta Provincial Government will propose [the master plan], then we will assess it. The BPTJ and the Railway Directorate General will provide their opinion on it,” he revealed on Friday (13/12).

According to Edi, the two railway infrastructures, with LRT having elevated tracks and MRT having elevated and underground tracks, are under the full authority of the Jakarta Provincial Government because they are located inside the city.

However, if central and regional governments sit together, various problems such as land procurement and technical implementation will be solved easier, because those problems tend to deal with government offices and embassies multiple times.

“I generally agree [with the initial plan from Jakarta Transportation Agency]. The east-to-west train in Jakarta ideally needs three [routes]. Moreover, the MRT route has not been determined, so alternative routes are still possible, as long as it is from Cikarang to Balaraja. The route that will be taken is still being discussed,” he added.

Previously, Jakarta Transportation Agency planned to move the East-West MRT route from Sarinah to be more to the north, such as Harmoni and Sawah Besar. The meeting point of the North-South MRT at Sarinah will be occupied by Jakarta LRT.

Jakarta Transportation Agency Head Syafrin Liputo emphasised that the Jakarta LRT route that would be handled by his agency, Pulo Gadung – Kebayoran Lama, was an extension of the East-West corridor.

According to him, waiting for the construction of the East-West MRT to finish takes too long, while it is planned to be operational in 2024. Syafrin forecasts that the East-West LRT construction will be faster if it is set to be operational in 2022.

“We are proposing for the MRT to go through the intersection at Harmoni or Sawah Besar. Why? Because by seeing the demand, the largest [passenger] transfer occurs at Harmoni. Hence, Transjakarta built Harmoni Central Busway. MRT, which has a massive capacity, is expected to accommodate the mobility of residents,” Syafrin said on Wednesday (11/12).

Pulo Gadung – Kebayoran Lama LRT will use the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, with PT Pembangunan Jaya as the potential initiator.

Syafrin emphasised that Pulo Gadung – Kebayoran Lama LRT construction would still be carried out through a public tender mechanism.

“So, potential initiators will state their interest after conducting a study, providing the required documents, and meeting the conditions, then potential initiators can continue their study. After that, the government will conduct an assessment. So, not just any potential initiator can build as they have to participate in a tender or an open bidding,” Syafrin explained.

Rp12 trillion of the Rp15 trillion investment requirement will be provided by the regional budget. Hence, PT Pembangunan Jaya will receive an extra 10% point for the tender winner assessment that will be carried out later.