Bali to have first railway?

Indonesia announced yesterda  that it  had offered a railway project in Bali to Chinese investors.

“We offered some projects, including railway development in Bali,” Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs was quoted as saying by Antara while on a visit to Beijing. 

The railway would connect Denpasar to Ubud in Gianyar regency and Singaraja in Buleleng regency. It is expected that tourists will use the railway to travel from densely populated Denpasar to the two regencies.  

"So far, tourists are concentrated in Nusa Dua in Badung regency and Denpasar. So, [with the railway] they will later spread to the northern part of the island," he said.

He said construction was expected to start in 2018 as the project’s feasibility study had been completed by Udayana University in cooperation with the World Bank.

Bali has been struggling with the issue of traffic congestions at different levels for quite a while now.  The development plan of Bali’s first rail line is a potential game-changer in the island’s public transportation scene (as well as traffic scene); hoping it will be managed and progressing in the best possible direction.

Source : The Jakarta Post | Baliradio.net