KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, has invited China to work on an autonomous train project, also known as a trackless train or Automated Rail Transit (ART), in the Capital of the Archipelago (IKN).

The invitation was conveyed by the Minister of Transportation during a meeting with the Chinese Minister of Transportation in Beijing, China, on Friday (12/1). In the meeting, both countries committed to continue enhancing cooperation in the development of national transportation infrastructure.

Budi has explored this with the Chinese side through the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).

The Minister of Transportation expressed the Indonesian government's desire to use a set of autonomous trains from CRRC for its operation in IKN.

"One set of trains consists of three carriages, with a capacity of 307 passengers, an operational speed of 40 km/hour, and a maximum speed of 70 km/hour," said the Minister of Transportation in a press release, Friday (12/1).

The CRRC is reported to be bringing an autonomous train unit to Indonesia, as a showcase for an exhibition to be held in IKN around July 2024. This will be a demonstration of the capabilities of the autonomous train.

Budi also asked for the support of the Chinese government to invite private parties to invest in railway projects in major cities in Indonesia such as Bandung, Semarang, and Makassar.

Not only in the railway sector, Budi also invited China to invest in the aviation sector. Especially to meet the needs of aviation services in areas that have relatively short runways, as well as cooperation in improving human resource capacity in the aviation sector.

In the maritime sector, the Minister of Transportation is also exploring cooperation in improving human resources through various education and training programs in the maritime field.

Editor: Syamsul Azhar