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The city administration is hoping by 2014 to get three million people a day commuting across Greater Jakarta by train, up from the 450,000 who now use the capital’s train network.

“The commuter train lines have serious potential to accommodate more passengers than they do today, but due to minimum facilities provided in trains and their poor condition, people prefer not to use them,” Governor Fauzi Bowo said at City Hall on Friday.

His statement comes a day after Tundjung Inderawan, director general of railways at the Ministry of Transportation, said that Rp 30 trillion in funding had been earmarked for a three-year program to overhaul and revitalize the train network across Greater Jakarta, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, beginning in 2011.

The city on Wednesday hosted a meeting of stakeholders on the revitalization program. It was attended by Vice President Boediono.
Fauzi said that land-acquisition issues related to the development project had been a major point of discussion at Wednesday’s meeting.

“We are currently looking to purchase the land for dual tracks that will support the train network’s operations,” he said, adding that the city would only buy land at the values estimated for tax purposes.

Fauzi said if residents affected by the project tried to take advantage of the development by attempting to sell their land for more than the estimated values, the issue would be left to the courts to decide.

Jakarta’s commuter train lines are operated by PT Kereta Api Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ), a subsidiary of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).

At present, train lines link the suburban areas of Serpong, Tangerang, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi to five train stations in the capital.
The stations are at Palmerah, Karet, Tanah Abang, Sudirman and Manggarai.

The 150 kilometers of track also include a circular line within the capital, which stops at Jatinegara in East Jakarta; Manggarai in South Jakarta; and Tanah Abang, Sudirman, Pasar Senen and Kampung Ambon stations in Central Jakarta.

Fauzi said the city was ready to cooperate with the revitalization program’s stakeholders, including the Transportation Ministry and KCJ.

He said the city administration would work to improve station infrastructure and access to all train stations in Jakarta, especially the main hub at Manggarai.

“Manggarai Station is located in what is not a very strategic area and is hard to get to by other forms of transportation,” Fauzi said.
He added that the city hoped to nearly quadruple the fleet of commuter trains, from 418 now to as many as 1,600 by 2014.

To enable easier access to the city’s train stations, Fauzi said his administration would work to create a comprehensive system of feeder buses to and from stations.

He said the city hoped to encourage public bus services to become a part of an integrated transportation system, creating a one-ticket policy by 2016 so commuters could transfer from the Busway to the train network.

Fauzi said train schedules would also be improved.

Commuter trains serving the Greater Jakarta area still face with a number of problems, including a sporadic power supply. Electricity shortages have caused significant delays on some lines in recent months.