KBRN, Bukittinggi: The railway reactivation initiative, which is supported by the Directorate General of Railways, will confront challenges due to incidences of theft of state-owned assets by irresponsible persons.

Yohn Ferry, the Directorate General of Railways' Sub-Directorate of Prevention and Law Enforcement, stated that his party wants to collaborate with local governments and stakeholders to expand the railway network in the Minang realm. However, the Directorate General of Railways is now unhappy and concerned since the railway infrastructure that has been developed has been stolen.

"In order to accelerate the economic growth of the people in West Sumatra Province, the network must be developed and state-owned assets must be maintained." Of course, we intend to collaborate with the local administration, which has recently made us quite concerned and agitated. Some of our assets in West Sumatra Province, particularly our train infrastructure, which we have created with significant value," he remarked.

He stated that his party has received information of thefts of State Property (BMN) railway assets along a 7-kilometer length of West Sumatra. Developing railway infrastructure is not inexpensive.

"According to the most recent report, 7 kilometers of our rails were lost." This implies that irresponsible individuals cut 7 kilometers of tracks into pieces, thus we are concerned about the link that we have installed but have yet to run. This concerns us at the Directorate General of Railways because train infrastructure is not inexpensive," he explained.

Yohn Ferry, the Directorate General of Railways' Sub-Directorate of Prevention and Law Enforcement, stated that the funding required to create a 1-kilometer railway network is Rp 80 billion. People cut the train rails and get barely any money from their efforts.

"One kilometer we build our railway infrastructure requires a budget of around 80 billion rupiah, if only 1 km is cut, it means we lose 80 billion. For us, the rupiah is expensive, but for those who cut our tracks and sell them, the price is certainly not expensive. So, building railroad infrastructure for 1 km requires a budget of 80 billion, if the lost 7 km means 80 billion multiplied by 7," he said.
The Directorate General of Railways would like to receive suggestions and input from across sectors to follow up on the case of theft of railway assets in West Sumatra.

"Where will our railways be taken if we have built but this is stolen, implying that our railways in West Sumatra Province will be delayed?" This is what drives us to meet and meet face to face with stakeholders, including wali nagari, niniak mamak, camat, and others. So that we may offer comments on how crucial the utilization of this train infrastructure is," he stated.

According to him, according to statistics from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2022, various areas' Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) has grown considerably, with the growth affected by the seamless operation of the transportation sector.

"I read in the BPS report in 2022, there are several districts and cities whose GRDP has increased significantly, meaning that there is economic growth here, when I read the whole that this economic growth is influenced by the smooth transportation," he said.
The Directorate General of Railways is currently unable to operate trains on railroad lines that were in operation in the past, due to budget and state financial limitations. However, cases of theft of railway assets affect efforts to realize the railway network before the operation of trains.
"This is what we make transportation before we operate it. Yes, let's maintain the assets that we have built, even though they have not been operated. Due to the limitations of the state budget, the limitations of state finances, we have not been able to operate. However, we have the intention to build the network first and then operate it. Now, the network that we have built, then we move to another location, even the network that has been built is stolen," he added.
The Directorate General of Railways requested collaboration with security institutions and stakeholders to eliminate incidents of theft of public assets by thieves.

"This is where we request collaboration between regional officials, law enforcement officials, and several other leading sectors." We trust that this railroad regulatory counseling activity will be beneficial to all of us and the growth of the railroad network. Where will the railroad in West Sumatra go if there is always a lot of theft involving stakeholders, especially in Solok and Tanah Datar, where there are a lot of incidents of theft of our assets?" he added.

Source : https://www.rri.co.id/bukittinggi/nasional/246379/djka-akui-pencurian-aset-perkeretaapian-di-sumatera-barat