Jakarta Signs Cooperation with Leading French Railway Companies

In line with the Paris Agreement, the Jakarta Government is committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The biggest challenge faced by Jakarta is transforming the mobility paradigm from car-oriented development to transit-oriented development.

MRT Jakarta will be the backbone of changes in mobility in Jakarta

Therefore, the future of urban transportation is pursued through the development of the Jakarta MRT network. Last Tuesday (5/17) at the Indonesian Embassy to France in Paris, PT MRT Jakarta initiated an activity entitled Investing in Urban Regeneration Forum 2022 (City Development Investment Forum), which includes several activities involving the major railway industry players in France.

The forum was opened by Indonesian Embassy Deputy Ambassador to France Fernando Alwi and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. It was also attended by Jakarta Investment Committee Thomas Trikasih Lembong, Jakarta Transportation Agency Head Syafrin Liputo, Jakarta Secretary Assistant for Economy and Finance Sri Haryati, PT MRT Jakarta President Director William Sabandar, and PT MRT Jakarta Business Development Director Farchad Mahfud.

MRT Customer Satisfaction Index Continues to Show Improvement

"We all face the same climate crisis, thus we need collaborative work in responding to it. We must think far ahead and encourage sustainable change. In this case, MRT Jakarta will be the backbone of changes in mobility in Jakarta," said the Governor, as quoted from Jakarta PPID Press Release, Wednesday (5/25).

During the event, two MoUs were signed with two leading French railway industry companies.

First, MoU with Alstom regarding cooperation in Railway System Solutions which includes rolling stock procurement scheme, signal, infrastructure, and MRT Jakarta service. The signing was carried out by PT MRT Jakarta President Director William P. Sabandar and Alstom Pre-tender Support and Marketing Director Didier Valiere.

Second, MoU with Thales regarding Ticketing System Integration Technology Solution which was signed by PT MRT Jakarta President Director William P. Sabandar and Thales VP Managing Director of Revenue Collection Systems Ground Transportation Jean-Marc Reynaud.

"As a city that has just started the MRT compared to other metropolitan cities in the world, MRT network has started 16 kilometers from the planned 240 kilometers. Therefore, cooperation is needed. We want to exchange experiences and ideas from world cities that have already adopted sustainable mobility systems, such as Paris," he conveyed.

MoU signing with two major companies in the French railway industry is one of MRT Jakarta's efforts to present the future of transportation in Indonesia, even further, to present a new face of Jakarta as the future the renewable economic center in Indonesia.

"Together with Alstom, we will see cooperation to build the most appropriate urban rail system for Jakarta, both from the aspect of trains, signaling, infrastructure, and MRT Jakarta services. While with Thales, we will explore technological aspects and technical solutions related to the ticketing and payment system for the next MRT Jakarta development," said MRT President Director William P. Sabandar.

He saw the potential for cooperation as a provider of consulting services for other regions that want to develop their urban public transportation system. Thus, through a meeting with world-class urban rail industry players, he hoped for a better future for public transportation in Jakarta thus Jakarta can become a city that is on par with other metropolitan cities.

For information, Alstom is a French company that makes the TGV, Europe's first high-speed train. While Thales is a technology company that is involved in modernizing the signaling system for the London Underground and Turkey's high-speed rail.