TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Soekarno-Hatta airport Skytrain will begin transporting passengers on Sunday, September 17. The train with Automated People Mover System (APMS) technology operates at 7-10 am, 1-2 pm, and 5-7 pm. The train is still controlled by a driver.

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II spokesperson Yado Yarismano said that the use of manual drive on the early stage of Skytrain operation is a standard operating procedure set by PT Woojin, South Korean company producing Skytrain.

Read: Skytrain Trials at Soekarno Hatta Airport to Begin in Mid-August

In addition, a subsidiary of state-owned electronics maker PT Len Industri and Transportation Ministry’s Directorate General of Railway transportation carryout direct supervision. "The use of a driver is intended to ensure the overall system of Skytrain," Yado said on Saturday, Sept. 16.

"After a full manual operation, driverless Skytrain will then be implemented," Yado added. The Soekarno-Hatta airport Skytrain will then be controlled from Operational Control Room.

Skytrain will be fully operating by the end of November 2017. Six trains will go through track A and B to carry passengers connecting Integrated Building, Terminal I, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3.

Meanwhile, for tomorrow’s operation, Soekarno-Hatta airport Skytrain is continuously tried by carrying passengers. The simulation is carried out by transporting dozens to hundreds of passengers with the speed 40 kilometers per hour from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 and the other way around.

JONIANSYAH HARDJONO