The culmination of years of planning and construction, Jakarta’s eagerly awaited subway line is ready to open to the public on 24th March, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (commonly known as Jokowi) expected to host the official opening ceremony at Hotel Indonesia station in Central Jakarta.
The Jakarta MRT stretches 16km from Lebak Bulus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, stopping at 13 stations along the way. It is estimated that the new service will be able to transport 65,000 people every day by the end of the year, with the number expected to grow to 130,000 by 2022.
This existing network will be expanded gradually over the next few years; the northern subway line is slated to begin operations in 2024, while lines from east to west could be opened as soon as 2026 if construction begins next year as planned.
Travellers visiting satellite cities such as Bogor, located just outside the capital, will soon be able to make use of an elevated rail network connecting them to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The US$2.4 billion project is due to open this April and will dramatically reduce travel times across the capital and into regions surrounding the city.
Once up and running, the new MRT and rail transport services are expected to ease congestion on the famously crowded roads of Indonesia’s capital city, home to around 30 million people.
