President Joko Widodo of Indonesia has pledged to fix the Greater Jakarta Light Rail Transit line after technical issues came to light following its inauguration on Monday 28 August.
Local media reported that, two days later, passengers had to be evacuated from a station in Bekasi following a problem with the driverless train’s doors.
The line, which is known as the Jabodebek LRT, runs along a 42km corridor between central Jakarta and the city of Depok on its southern outskirts.
President Widodo said: “There are certainly some imperfections that need corrections. The evaluation will be conducted by state-owned train manufacturer INKA.”
Widodo went on to draw comparisons with France’s TGV service and Japan’s Shinkansen, both of which had teething problems.
Jabodebek is Indonesia’s third metro; the first opened in southern Sumatra, followed by Jakarta’s first light rail line. Nikkei Asia reports that this line was initially designed to be longer and connect to the city of Bogor.
A $8.6bn railway linking Jakarta and Bandung in West Java, is due to open in 2023.
