WNAM MONITORING: The Railway Testing Center of the Transportation Ministry conducted a physical test of the trackless Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) train in Indonesia’s new national capital city (IKN) Nusantara, East Kalimantan.
“Today’s physical test is focused on certain aspects. We are planning for another comprehensive road test,” one of the examiners from the team, P. Sinaga, said here Monday.
Deputy for green and digital transformation at the IKN Authority (OIKN), Mohammed Ali Berawi, said that two train sets will be tested under the ART proof of concept (PoC) process.
One train set (3 carriages) is currently in Nusantara and another is undergoing temporary import processing at the Kariangau Terminal Balikpapan port.
“The overall proof of concept (PoC) is targeted to be carried out on August 10 (2024) after the train set’s feasibility has been checked by the Ministry of Transportation’s technical team,” Berawi informed.
The testing of the first set of trackless autonomous trains on Monday was completed around 5 p.m. local time. The inspection of the train produced by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co covered its engine, train body, wheels, and interiors.
The autonomous train is scheduled to start operating on August 17. Nusantara is expected to become a pioneer city with sophisticated and efficient future transportation technology.
Furthermore, the head of Balikpapan Transportation Service, Adward Skenda Putra, said that the Ministry of Transportation plans to build a train line connecting Balikpapan city with IKN, especially from Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport.
Earlier, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said that the autonomous train is the result of cooperation with the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC). The train has been procured using the State Budget (APBN).
The ART train has three carriages with a total capacity of 200 passengers.
It is powered by electricity and has no exhaust emissions, which makes it environmentally friendly.
Sumadi said he hopes the autonomous train can become a transportation icon at IKN and inspire other cities in Indonesia to adopt similar technologies.
“With its advantage of not requiring rails, this train has great potential to be implemented in big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Semarang,” he added.
