The President has announced plans to step up railway development across the country, beginning with a cross-island network on Sumatra, as a cost-efficient “instrument of economic democratization” that would improve public transport connectivity, particularly for lower-income communities and people in smaller towns.
A man guides a vendor on May 3, 2026, as he crosses a railroad before an oncoming train in the Tanah Kusir area of Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. (Antara/Sulthony Hasanuddin)
President Prabowo Subianto has revived plans for a trans-Sumatra rail network, connecting Bakauheni in the southern province of Lampung with Banda Aceh in the island's north, as part of the government's broader push to strengthen national rail connectivity.Speaking on Thursday during the inauguration of the restored Semarang Tawang train station in the Central Java capital, Prabowo said the government aimed to expand the rail infrastructure beyond Java toward developing a similar network in Kalimantan.
This would involve building "a trans-Sumatra railway from [provincial capital] Bandar Lampung, from the southernmost point in Bakauheni to the northernmost point”, he said.
“After the trans-Sumatra railway, we'll move on to the trans-Kalimantan railway. If possible, we'll start both at the same time," he added.
