Padang - The construction of a railway line is a fairly expensive investment at the time of construction as well as large operational and maintenance costs. This is what makes it difficult to build railways in developing countries such as Indonesia.

Despite the high costs incurred, rail transportation is a reliable mode of transportation and can become excellent as a transportation of goods and people even throughout the world which makes this transportation special among other modes. This is due to its large carrying capacity, mass transport, mileage, frequency, travel time, safety, comfort, reliability and penetration into certain areas.

As a transportation infrastructure, the construction of the railway line will provide great benefits to the area served. Such as regional development, economic growth, savings in transportation costs, and several other benefits.

In West Sumatera itself, in addition to the considerable costs incurred, other challenges can be seen in the crossing conditions that are still the same as before which were built many years ago, thus reducing the efficiency of train travel. Then, it is undeniable that there are still many illegal buildings built on the railroad tracks and also a low level of public awareness and discipline towards the safety and security of themselves and others.

"To improve railroad infrastructure, of course, it is not short and requires time and so on. In addition, the improvements made should certainly be directly proportional to public awareness to maintain existing facilities," said Head of Sub Division of Administration Dedi Humaidi in his statement.

To realize the progress of railways in West Sumatra, according to him, it cannot be done and left to one party alone but is the result of the cooperation of various parties including the community itself.

"Although trains have a long history in West Sumatra, currently the active train lines are shorter than the non-active lines. Perhaps this also makes the community feel 'foreign' so that the presence of trains is still considered an 'enemy' of humans because of the high number of accidents involving trains in West Sumatra," he continued.

In addition, some other technical challenges of railway development in West Sumatra are uneven topography because some areas of West Sumatra are rocky hills; limited infrastructure; land conditions prone to landslides and floods; dependence on other land transportation (not used to using trains for daily mobility); and land acquisition involving community-owned land and legal issues. (RAH)

Public Relations of Padang Railway Engineering Center