TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Light Rail Transit (LRT) Jabodebek is currently under scrutiny for several issues, including worn rails and short circuits triggered by iron powders. These problems are causing the passengers to wait longer at the stations and end up choosing other modes of public transportation, bailing from LRT Jabodebek.

Responding to this plethora of issues, House of Representatives (DPR) Member from Commission V Suryadi Jaya Purnama stated that certain measure to identify the root cause of the problem is necessary.

"We demand LRT Jabodebek to be audited by BPK (The Audit Board of Indonesia)," Suryadi said in a written statement quoted on Thursday, November 16.

This audit, Suryadi added, must be conducted along with railways experts, such as academics, professionals, and the general public to avoid auditing outside of technical aspects. "As was done before when BPKP (Finance and Development Supervisory Agency) audited KRL imports," he said.

Waiting time for LRT Jabobedek is currently between 30 minutes at peak hours and 1 hour at regular hours, a divergent from the waiting time at the start of its operation.

Earlier, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi explained on November 7 at a working meeting with Commission V of DPR that the reason for the longer headways was the worn wheels of 18 LRT Jabodebek trainsets. This condition caused less operable trains.

The minister targeted the reparation of LRT Jabodebek's wheels to be finished in December. "Thus, we call for the Transportation Ministry to focus on the cause of these worn wheels of LRT Jabodebek," Suryadi remarked.

Meanwhile, the popular analysis that emerged within the general public is the possibility of technical regulation violation concerning the standardized rail width as provided in the Transportation Minister Regulation No. 60 of 2012.

"Concerning the need to halt operations of 18 trainsets to repair the worn wheels and 8 trainsets are currently operable, we recommend temporarily halting the operation of LRT Jabodebek completely," he said.

This complete halt of operation, he believed, was necessary until the auditing and repair processes were finalized. "To guarantee the security and safety of all passengers," he concluded.

DEFARA DHANYA PARAMITHA

Editor's Choice: LRT Jabodebek Suddenly Stops Again Today in South Jakarta

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News