The Ministry of Transportation Will Trial Jakarta-Jogja Direct Train Next Week

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) together with the Ministry of BUMN and PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) continue to work to improve the efficiency of long-distance rail transportation. After successfully testing the direct train without transit (direct train) of the Jakarta-Semarang route that cuts travel time to 15-20 minutes, it is now the turn of the Jakarta-Yogyakarta route that will be tested next Monday.

“The Jakarta-Yogyakarta direct train is expected to cut travel time from 7 hours to 6 hours 1 minute. Tomorrow, the Minister of Transportation Mr. Dudy Purwagandhi and the Deputy Minister of state-owned enterprises will review directly to the site,” said Director General of Railways Risal Wasal during a press conference related to the organization of Christmas and New Year (Nataru) Transit (Nataru) 2024/2025 at the office of the Ministry of Transportation, Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jakarta, Thursday (12/12/2024).

Risal said the trial was part of efforts to improve rail transport services. Earlier, Risal said, the test of the Jakarta-Semarang route showed significant results, with a travel time of only five hours. However, Risal explained that time can still be fixed.

“Yesterday the test was still five hours because there is still some work on the line, but God willing on December 18 everything has been completed so that the speed can return to normal and the travel time will increase even more for the direct train Jakarta-Semarang,” Risal said.

With the operation of direct trains, Risal continued, Kemenhub hopes to provide faster and more convenient transportation services for the community. Risal hopes that the program will also be able to improve the competitiveness of rail transport with other modes of transportation.