Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation stated that the discontinuation of the autonomous rail transit (ART) project or autonomous train without tracks in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) is not a problem.
Head of the Ministry of Transportation's Public Communication and Information Bureau (Kemenhub), Budi Rahardjo, said the government will seek the best solution for IKN because the two-month trial evaluation indicated that ART is not functioning properly.
Furthermore, Budi claimed that the country did not suffer losses due to the discontinuation of this project. " The country is not at a loss because the trial financing is covered by the ART vendor," Budi said in a statement on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.
Regarding yesterday's trial, Budi stated that ART was indeed one of the alternatives as it applies the concept of environmentally friendly, sustainable, and high-tech transportation. This is in line with the transportation concept in IKN that is environmentally friendly and futuristic.
ART operated using batteries, Budi said, can minimize greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil energy.
Therefore, the Ministry of Transportation facilitated the trial of this transportation mode. However, the trial MoU was signed by the IKN Authority with the Norinco vendor-with the participation of CRRC Qindao Sifang.
Therefore, according to him, the party evaluating whether ART is feasible and suitable for the needs of the new capital city is the IKN Authority.
Deputy of Green and Digital Transformation Sector of the IKN Authority, Mohammed Ali Berawi, previously stated that the assessment and evaluation until the ART assessment indicated that the trackless train was not functioning properly. Therefore, they will ask Norinco to return the train to China.
"In accordance with the MoU agreement for the PoC, we will ask Norinco to return the trainset in IKN to China," said Ali, quoted from Antara.
Former President Joko Widodo or Jokowi had previously tested the ART or autonomous train in Nusantara IKN on Tuesday, August 13. The autonomous train is touted as an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
"We want mass transportation in IKN to be based on green energy. And that ART earlier was electrical. I hope it can be used in IKN later. In addition to being inexpensive, the energy is green," said Jokowi at the PSSI IKN Training Center, quoted from the State Secretariat Ministry website, on Tuesday, August 13.
At that time, Jokowi rode the autonomous train from in front of the IKN State Palace on Tuesday afternoon, August 13, 2024. Traveling around several points in the core government area.
The autonomous train brought Jokowi from Grande in front of the IKN State Palace, passing Kemenko 1 Building, then to Kemenko 2 Building. From Kemenko 2 Building, passing Kemenko 4 Building, traversing Kemenko 3 Building, and back to Grande, with a travel time of about 7 minutes. This ART transportation mode is said to be a government commitment to implementing green energy-based transportation in IKN.
– Ihsan Reliubun contributed to the writing of this article