Archaeologist: Old Tramway Found in MRT Jakarta Project the Oldest in Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Cultural Heritage Board of Experts, Junus Satrio Atmodjo, said the tram track from the Dutch colonial era uncovered during the construction project of MRT Jakarta Phase 2A is the oldest in Indonesia.

The senior archaeologist, who is also a consultant in the MRT project, said that the first railway in Indonesia was built in 1869 connecting the city of Semarang with Tanggung Station.

“Two years after that, a tram line was built in Jakarta. So what we are facing now is the oldest tram line in Indonesia,” Junus said during a virtual discussion in Jakarta, Monday, December 27, as quoted from Antara.

Junus explained that although the electric trams in Jakarta were no longer in use, the tram tracks had never been removed, but instead buried under the road.

The Dutch colonial era tram track was discovered in the Glodok-Kota MRT Jakarta Phase 2A project, precisely under the TransJakarta line or on Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan.

He claimed he had predicted that tram tracks would be found during the construction project of Glodok-Kota MRT Jakarta underground station as similar tram tracks were uncovered near Fatahillah Museum, Kota Tua.

“So we could predict that we will find the same tram tracks at the construction site of stations,” Junus said. 

Read: MRT Jakarta to Relocate Old Tramways Uncovered Near Glodok

ANTARA