Makassar (29/10) – The people of Barru Regency and Pangkep Regency are now able to try the first train in Sulawesi for free during a limited trial period. This was conveyed by the Director General of Railways (plt) Zulmafendi during the review of the limited operation trial of the Makassar-Parepare railway line on Saturday (29/10).

At this event which was also attended by the Governor of South Sulawesi, it was also conveyed that during the limited trial operation period, the Andalan Celebes train could be boarded by the public to cross from Garongkong Station to Mangilu Station. Meanwhile, the reverse route from Mangilu Station to Garongkong Station will be served by Lontara Train.

Furthermore, Zulmafendi said that the pride of Bumi Celebes railway line is one of the railway lines in Indonesia that uses a standard gauge with a width of 1435 mm. "With the width of the track, the train in Sulawesi will be able to run faster and more comfortably than the train on the island of Java," said Zulmafendi.

 In addition, Zulmafendi also mentioned that this railway line has very high potential of tourism sector. According to Zulmafendi, the beautiful scenery along the route will be an attraction to the tourist itself. "Not to mention many tourist areas such as the Sumpang Binangoe Pavilion Nature Tourism, Ujung Batoe Beach Nature Tourism, to Dewi Biringkassi Mangrove Tourism," explained Zulmafendi. In the future, the Rammang-Rammang Station will also be operated which is very close to the Rammang-Rammang Geopark tourist attraction. So it is expected that the presence of this railway line can increase the number of tourists in South Sulawesi.

 In the initial stage of the limited operation trial, along 66 km of the railway line will be traversed by trains that can be accessed by the public through 7 stations. The seven stations include Garongkong Station, Barru Station, Tanete Rilau Station, Mandalle Station, Ma'rang Station, Labakkang Station, and Mangilu Station. Zulmafendi said that during this limited operation trial, people who want to try to ride the KA Andalan Celebes or KA Lontara can go directly to these stations. For the information, the trial operations will be carried out once in each day and depart at 11.06 WITA from Garongkong Station for the Andalan Celebes Train, and at 10.08 WITA and at 16.05 WITA from Tanete Rilau Station for the Lontara Train.

In order to participate in the limited trial event, prospective passengers are expected to be able to report their personal data to the station officer in the form of name, address, telephone number, and impressions/messages during the operation trial activity. "Hopefully the public can try and get to know this mode of rail transportation so that it can become the pride of the people of Sulawesi," concluded Zulmafendi. (HJA)