Rail transport in Indonesia
The majority of Indonesia's railways are on Java, used for both passenger and freight transport. There are three noncontinuous railway networks in Sumatra (Aceh and North Sumatra; West Sumatra; South Sumatra and Lampung) while two new networks are being developed in Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Indonesia has finalized its plan for a national railway network recently. According to the plan, 3,200 km of train tracks that will criss-cross the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi, it has been touted as the most extensive railway project in Indonesia since its independence from the Dutch in  1945. Urban railway exist in form of commuter rail in Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya. New mass rapid transit and light rail transit system are currently being introduced in Jakarta and Palembang. Despite Indonesia having a left-hand running for roads, most of the railway lines use right-hand running due to Dutch influence. Indonesia's rail gauge is , although and lines previously existed. Newer constructions in Sumatra including Aceh, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua, along with the Jakarta LRT, are using the gauge. Most of the Jakarta metropolitan area is electrified at 1500 V DC overhead. Indonesia's railways are primarily  operated by the state-owned Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), its commuter subsidiary KAI Commuter, and the airport rail link subsidiary . The infrastructure is state-owned, and companies pay a fee for using the railways. Various narrow gauge industrial tramways operate in Java and Sumatra, serving the sugarcane and oil palm industries. History. The first railway line in Indonesia opened in 1867 and was initially laid to standard gauge size. The railways were gradually expanded by both the state and private companies. The Japanese occupation and the Indonesian War of Independence left Indonesia's railways in a poor condition. A batch  of 100 steam locomotives were ordered in 1950, and dieselisation started in 1953. By the 1980s most mainline services had been dieselised. Electric multiple units were obtained from Japan beginning in the 1970s, replacing 60-year-old electric locomotives. Since the independence era, all mainline railways in Indonesia have been managed by the state. The owners of the private railway were compensated first, but the system was fully nationalised in 1971. Construction of new railway lines has been scarce, and most new construction is concentrated on double- and quad-tracking of existing railway lines. Most of the former tramway lines  have been closed, reducing the mileage from about 7000 km to only 3000 km. Rail infrastructures by region. Java. The first railways in Indonesia were built on the island of Java, using gauge. During the Japanese occupation, they were converted to gauge. At its greatest extent, the Javanese network had a length of , connecting most parts of the island. The Javanese network train (in Java Island) is divided into nine operating divisions. Sumatra. In Sumatra as of 2013, there are 1,869 kilometres of track, of which 1,348 km are operational. Several unconnected railway networks were built in the time of  the Dutch East Indies: Plans to connect up and fix these isolated lines are included in the Trans-Sumatra Railway plan. Railway services in Sumatra by operational is divided into three regional divisions, which are: Kalimantan. The first railway network in Kalimantan island was opened in 1908, serving the oil refinery and port of Balikpapan. It was closed in 1950. In 2010, plans were announced for Kalimantan to get a 122 km long railway for the transport of coal between the mine and the port of Bengalon. In January 2016, Russian Railways reported that the construction of a railway in  Kalimantan will finish in 2019. Recently, In 2022, Russian Railways reported withdraw from the initial investment plan so the railway construction was canceled. Lesser Sunda Islands. In 2019, It was reported in "Gapura Bali" that Wayan Koster, governor of Bali, Railways on Bali will be built with standard gauge, "is keen to improve Bali's transportation infrastructure and is considering plans to build an electric rail network across the island". Sulawesi. The first railway network in Sulawesi was opened in 1922 connecting Makassar and Takalar, but was closed in 1930 due to poor revenue. In 2022, The Trans-Sulawesi Railway  is now under construction, and will be built with standard gauge which is wider than the cape gauge used in Java and older lines in Sumatra to accommodate more weight and speed. Papua. A 440 km railway from Manokwari to Sorong in West Papua province is planned. Railways in Papua the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea Border with Standard Gauge from Railways of New Guinea (Indonesia-Papua New Guinea). Rolling stock. Preserved locomotives. Indonesia had various types of locomotives, being the legacy of the many different companies. Surprisingly, only three steam locomotives remain in operable condition, all located in the Ambarawa  Railway Museum. On the other hand, static steam locomotive displays are located in the Transportation Museum (under the auspices of the Department of Transportation) in Jakarta's "Taman Mini Indonesia Indah" (Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park) and Ambarawa Railway Museum (managed by PT Kereta Api) in Central Java. Plinthed locomotives can also be found in most cities and towns. Somewhat surprisingly, few non-locomotive rolling stock were preserved. With the Asian economic crisis of 1997, remaining hulks of steam locomotives formerly standing in former depots became valuable for their scrap value, and by 2000, most locomotives not already plinthed or  sent to museums were scrapped, presumably illegally. Four operable industrial steam locomotives are present, with two more preserved, at the Cepu Forest Railway. This currently represents the largest concentration of active preserved steam locomotives in Indonesia. Several "last" steam locomotives were built for Indonesia. E1060, a 1966-built rack steam locomotive (Esslingen 5316) is operable in Ambarawa railway museum. BB84, the last Mallet locomotive built for a non-tourist railway (according to Durrant) was built by Nippon Sharyo Keizo Kaisha in 1962 (works number 2007). This locomotive was plinthed in Banda Aceh and survived the December 2004 tsunami. The locomotive  is in rather poor condition with its valve gear and cylinder pistons missing (as of March 2006). Steam locomotive 1622 "Sri Gunung" (Mountain Queen), a mallet built in 1928, preserved in the Dutch Railway Museum. The Trangkil No. 4 (Hunslet 3902) was built in 1971, being the last steam locomotive built at Hunslet's Jack Lane Works in Leeds, England. The locomotive was used on the Trangkil sugar mill estate on Java. It has been repatriated to the UK in 2004. Diesel locomotives. As of 2016, PT Kereta Api operates about 350 units of diesel locomotives divided into classes in  Java and Sumatra used both for passenger and freight services. The first diesel locomotive owned by PT Kereta Api was CC200 class, built by General Electric in 1953. Electric trains. As of August 2017, PT Kereta Api's commuter subsidiary, Kereta Commuter Indonesia, operates 758 units of electric multiple units (EMU) in Greater Jakarta area. Most EMUs operated in Jakarta are secondhand trains acquired from major urban railway operators in Greater Tokyo in Japan, such as East Japan Railway Company and Tokyo Metro. Usage. Passenger services. KAI provides extensive passenger services. Various classes are available, from argo class with reclining  seats and plane - like facilities, executive class with air conditioner and reclining seat comparable to the better classes of other countries' railways, business coaches which recently have been equipped with air conditioner and reclining seats much like executive class, to the hard bench, but still air conditioned, economy class coaches for cheaper trains. In last couple of years, the business and economic class are in the process of being equipped with air conditioned system. The whole process was completed in early 2013. Sleeper trains have existed in Indonesia. The last all-sleeper train service was Bima express train which ran  from 1967 to 1984 when it was changed to mostly coach, leaving only one or two sleeping cars. It ran in this configuration until 1995, when the sleeper cars were withdrawn and modified into seating coach. Since 2018, sleeper trains have been re-activated for the Argo Bromo Anggrek (Jakarta to Surabaya), Taksaka (Jakarta to Yogyakarta), Argo Lawu and Argo Dwipangga (Jakarta to Solo), and Gajayana (Jakarta to Malang). In Java, most trains connect Jakarta and the hinterland - regional (or "cross-country" services) have not been fully developed. Between pairs of important cities such as Jakarta and Bandung, intensive hourly  services are provided. Most passenger trains in Indonesia, except commuter locals, are named. The names varies from plainly descriptive such as Depok Ekspres (a former fast service between Jakarta and Depok), through Logawa (name of a river near Purwokerto, which is served by the train), Argo Lawu (Mt. Lawu, an extinct volcano near Solo, which is served by the said express train), to more or less meaningless, though romantic, names such as Bangunkarta (abbreviation of names of cities it serves: Jombang-Madiun-Jakarta) and Matarmaja (Malang-Blitar-Madiun-Jakarta). Railway passenger services experienced a "renaissance" in the 1995-1999 period , with the introduction of many new passenger express services. With the advent of cheap airplane tickets, KAI experienced a downturn in the number of passengers carried, though the number has stabilized and most trains remain at more than 50% occupancy rate. Argo Network. Note: K.A. Argo Gede no longer exists (and also K.A. Parahyangan). As a replacement, K.A. Argo Parahyangan trains operate the same routing as a merge of K.A. Argo Gede and K.A. Parahyangan. Women only carriages. As a response to many reports of sexual harassment in public places, including commuter trains and bus, KAI launched women-only carriages  in some KRL Jabodetabek commuter trains in Jakarta metropolitan area in August 2010. On May 13, 2013 KAI changed women-only trains to regular trains which at the front and back of the train has a coach for women only. This rule apply in KRL Jabodetabek. Priority seat. KAI designates priority seats to elderly passengers, pregnant women, disabled passengers and mother with infant to ride public transport with an equal degree of access and comfort as other people. Priority seat not only in the first and end of the train like in women only carriages, but eight seats in each  carriage are designated as priority seats. This apply in KRL Commuterline. Priority Class (Sleeper Train). KAI relaunched the Sleeper Train service on June 11, 2018. This sleeper train is equipped with excellent facilities even in the same class as a first class aircraft cabin. The first route for sleeper train is from Gambir Jakarta to Surabaya. The Luxury Sleeper Train is managed by another KAI subsidiary, KAI Wisata. Freight services. The railway system in Java is more or less a passenger-oriented system, and there are few freight services, due to the limited capacity of the tracks. Some notable freight  service in Java include the "Kalimas" container train and the Parcel train between Jakarta and Surabaya, petroleum trains between refineries or oil pipe terminals and oil depots, and quartz sand trains in Central Java. But in recent years, there has been many efforts to increase freight traffic in Java by introducing the GE CC206 locomotives, as well as building double track lines that connect Jakarta and Surabaya on North Coast line to increase the number of container trains between both cities. Many container ports have also been built on intermediate cities and towns. This effort already attract some customers who  normally shipped their products via roads. The system in South Sumatra is rather freight-oriented. Coal unit trains, carrying coal for an electricity plant are given priority over passenger trains. In West Sumatra, the remaining railway line serves the cement plant at Indarung, near Padang, and in North Sumatra, several oil palm and rubber plantations are served by freight trains. Urban rail and rail-based rapid transit. Trams formerly existed in Jakarta, Surabaya and Semarang before their service was closed after independence. In Greater Jakarta, KRL Commuterline is one of operational urban rail network, serving commuter routes which comprises cities  of DKI Jakarta, Depok, Bogor, Bekasi, Tangerang, and South Tangerang as well as regencies of Bogor, Bekasi, and Lebak. The other operational urban rail networks are Jakarta provincially-owned Jakarta MRT, Jakarta LRT, and Soekarno-Hatta Airport Rail Link to support the public transport network in the area. Regional rail functions as commuter rail in Greater Surabaya, so technically there is no urban rail network. However, there are plans for a mass rapid transit network in and around Surabaya. Surabaya MRT planned with Track gauge in Dupak line (Manyar-Dupak-Juanda), Rungkut line (Dupak-Rungkut-Waru-Sidoarjo), Krian line (Manyar -Krian-Sidoarjo), Tanjung Perak line (Tanjung Perak-Wonokromo-Sidoarjo), Juanda line (Juanda-Sidoarjo) and Other Loop line (Dupak-Rungkut-Krian-Dupak). A 32 km diesel line from Mojokerto to Sidoarjo has been put into service, with 6 daily return trips. Greater Medan is served by Kualanamu Airport Rail Link. "Sri Lelawangsa" commuter train connects Medan and nearby Binjai. In Palembang, Palembang Light Rail Transit had operate in June 2018, before the 2018 Asian Games. In greater Yogyakarta and Surakarta, KRL Commuterline Yogyakarta–Solo operates between Yogyakarta, Klaten and Surakarta. "Prambanan Express" connects Yogyakarta with Purworejo. Yogyakarta International and Adisumarmo Airport  Rail Links exists in Yogyakarta and Surakarta, respectively. In Padang, Minangkabau Airport Rail Link is operational. High-speed rail. In recent decades, Javan transportation backbones — north coast road and railway system that serves Jakarta-Surabaya corridor, has suffered greatly from both freight and passenger congestion. The plan to build a high-speed railway system in Java has been around for many years. However, it was not until 2008 that the idea had been contemplated seriously. It was Japan International Cooperation Agency's proposal that initiated the idea to build high-speed rail for the Indonesian island of Java, linking up  the densely populated corridor from the capital Jakarta to Surabaya city (covering 730 km) in East Java. Japan is eager to export their Shinkansen high-speed rail technology abroad. Following up JICA's initial study in 2012, the detailed feasibility study was concluded in 2014. In recent years, Indonesia has been undergoing a revival in railway expansion and upgrades. The high-speed rail corridors have been proposed but not implemented yet, since it was deemed too costly. In April 2015, China had entered the race with a counter-offer to build the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail in Indonesia. A  bid which alarmed Japan that has been nurtured the idea for years. In July 2015, the Indonesian government announced their plan to build the high-speed rail system connecting Jakarta and Bandung, and devised a competition between Japan and China train-makers as potential bidders. Japan and China have expressed their interest in the project; both countries had done comprehensive studies of the project. In late September 2015, Indonesia awarded this multibillion-dollar railway project to China over Japan. The proposed high-speed rail will connect the nation's capital Jakarta with Bandung city in neighboring West Java province, covering  a distance of 150 kilometers, and is also expected to expand further, connecting to Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya in East Java. The project has been delayed several times, first due to careless construction that affected nearby roads, then due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions. In December 2015 discussion for the Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed rail was commenced by the Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Resources. Academicians from two major universities in Indonesia, and employees from Japan International Cooperation Agency, were invited to attend the discussion.