Minangkabau Express is The Third Airport Train in Indonesia

Padang, (Antaranews Sumbar) - Train that is integrated directly with airport in West Sumatra namely Minangkabau Express is the third in Indonesia after in Kualanamu, North Sumatra, and Soekarno-Hatta, Tangerang, Banten.

"From the approximately 237 airports in Indonesia, only two are integrated with railways, namely Kualanamu and Soekarno-Hatta, we are the third," Head West Sumatra Dept. of Transportation Office, Amran stated in here on Sunday.

The Minangkabau Ekspres will be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo who will visit West Sumatra on Monday (May 21).

Mode of transportation that became one of the alternatives can be used by people in the capital of West Sumatra province, Padang to reach the airport in a relatively short time.

Train travel time from Simpang Haru Station to Minangkabau International Airport about 40 minutes, including stop time at two stations through Tabing and Duku.

In general, train is the choice of people who are afraid of catching up with scheduled flights due to the acute road congestion in Padang, especially at intersections, shopping centers, spill markets and education centers.

"The train has its own line and should take precedence over other modes of transportation, which makes people afraid of being late to the airport, preferring trains over other modes of transport," Amran explained.

According to him, the existence of airport train is a boon for people although he its existence also will not turn off the bus or taxi that has already served the route.

The Minangkabau express train has begun operating on a ten-day trip from early May 2018, five times from Simpang Haru station and five times from BIM.

Hundreds of people used the transport service at the start of travel schedule. It shows the public's enthusiasm for the modes of transportation. The tariff for the people who want to use train service is also very cheap for Simpang Haru Padang-BIM Rp10.000, Padang-Tabing Rp5,000, Padang-Duku Rp5,000, Duku-BIM Rp5,000.

It is expected that the airport train will have a positive impact for people of West Sumatra.

PR of PT KAI Divre of West Sumatra, Zainir noted that Minangkabau Express train consists of four series of trains. Its capacity is reaching 393 people.

For the distance from Simpang Haru Station to BIM along 22 kilometers, it takes about 40 minutes, he added. (cha)