Japan has proposed to construct new tracks for the medium-speed Jakarta-Surabaya railway line, according to Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi. The Jakarta-Surabaya rail project will be funded mainly by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“There would be three tracks. In addition to the existing ones, there [would be] tracks for medium-speed trains,” Budi Karya Sumadi explained. JICA is arguing that if the project is going to be built around the old tracks, train operations on those tracks would be disrupted by the construction work. Laying new tracks would also avoid the overlapping use of tracks by the old slow trains and the new medium-speed ones.
The Japanese proposal comes after the Indonesian government recently announced its decision to use the old tracks to curb costs. Using the existing lines would help cap the construction cost at about Rp 60 trillion (USD 4.44 billion), compared to the previous scenario of Rp 80 trillion using new tracks. The Transport Ministry is still studying the Japanese proposal.
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