State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has offered at least 600 old train cars to Myanmar.
“We have about 600 20-year-old cars. They can run up to 60 kilometers per hour. But they need to be reconditioned,” KAI director of logistics and development Budi Noviantoro said in Yogyakarta.
Budi explained that his company has sent a technical team to Myanmar to conduct a survey. As the company purchased new cars from General Electric, PT KAI had no longer used the old cars for its operations.
The Myanmar Ambassador to Indonesia has offered PT KAI to operate the country’s railway, reflecting a cooperation commitment to realize the mass transportation project.
“Myanmar has had trains. But the speed is limited only to 30 kilometers per hour,” Budi said.
Budi pointed out Myanmar has a huge potential in the railway sector, but the government could not yet optimize the potential, as the situation in the country has just been stabilized.
In addition, KAI has also discussed a cross-border railway project, connecting Kunming, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Delegations of six ASEAN countries, including Myanmar are currently meeting in Yogyakarta to discuss the cross-border railway project.
KAI president director Edi Sukmoro said that the cross-border railway network can be realized since railway transportation is the most important part in the ASEAN Economic Community era.
“In Europe, a car can be transported by a Ferry. In the future, Indonesia can have this,” he said.
