Jakarta (02/03) - On Thursday (02/03), Djarot Tri Wardhono, the Director of Railway Traffic and Transportation, announced in a media briefing that the Ministry of Transportation's Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) is providing subsidies for pioneer train services to ensure affordable train services for the community.

In his presentation, Djarot explained that pioneer subsidies are given for train services operating in new areas, or areas that already have lines but are not commercially profitable. "Generally, this pioneer subsidy is given by the Government for train services with occupancy of not more than 70% but there is significant potential and needs," Djarot said.

Djarot further explained that this pioneering train service can be carried out on newly built railway infrastructure, reactivated, or existing networks. "If the railway line is already available but not yet operated, an auction scheme will be carried out to determine the operator of pioneer train services on the line, such as on the Makassar-Parepare railway line," Djarot explained.

Djarot added, currently DJKA has 6 (six) pioneer subsidy contracts with train operators which include Cut Meutia train, Datuk Blambangan train, Anai Valley train, South Sumatra LRT, Bathara Kresna train, and Makassar-Parepare train. "The total budget we disbursed for the pioneer transportation program in 2023 reached Rp 147 billion," Djarot said.

As for the sustainability of pioneer train services, Djarot revealed that DJKA continues to strive for the growth of the occupancy rate of each pioneer train so that it can be converted into PSO and commercial economy train services. As of 2023, there have been a total of 3 pioneer train services that have been converted into PSO trains, namely Jenggala, Siliwangi, and Minangkabau Ekspress.

"We continue to integrate with other modes of transportation such as the South Sumatra LRT to boost the occupancy rate of this train service, so that the hope is to immediately switch to PSO trains," Djarot said.

At the end of his presentation, Djarot invited the public to take advantage of the pioneer train services provided by the Government. "We are optimistic that the occupancy rate of this pioneer train service will continue to grow considering the large tourism and economic potential that can be served by this train," Djarot said. (HJA)