Express Train Should Run sans Subsidy
11 July 2014 21:02 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Transportation Minister Bambang Susantono suggested that the nation's express train should operate without government's subsidy. The government's assistance should be limited to the construction of its infrastructure.
"I think too many things are being subsidized already these days. But if it's possible, the operation [of express trains] should not be dependent on government's subsidy," Bambang said on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Bambang referred to the express train in Taipei, Taiwan, which operates sans subsidy, but with minimum delays.
According to Bambang, the express train project could cost the nation USS$16.7 billion. He said that the Jakarta-Surabaya route would be the most feasible route to develop.
Bambang explained that the tariff for the express trains should be competitive with the cheapest plane tickets. The concept of the tariff for the express train, Bambang said, would be similar to the airport train tariff.
KHAIRUL ANAM
