China to build railway linking Denpasar to Singaraja

balinews

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Feb 14, 2010
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Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan announced on Thursday that Indonesia had offered a railway project in Bali to Chinese investors.

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

Luhut said 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.

Luhut will be in Beijing until Saturday to meet with Chinese entrepreneurs as a follow up to a meeting between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/06/15/indonesia-offers-bali-railway-project-to-china.html
 

sakumabali

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Apr 2, 2010
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And why should they do it? It makes no financial sense. Pastika is a Singaraja guy...why on earth should chinese investors build a railway through the mountains? To get later 5000 Rupiah from each passenger?
 

davita

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Mar 13, 2012
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And why should they do it? It makes no financial sense. Pastika is a Singaraja guy...why on earth should chinese investors build a railway through the mountains? To get later 5000 Rupiah from each passenger?

I agree...it makes more sense to have a fast railway from Gilimanuk to Padang Bai via Denpasar...that way they could transfer goods/passengers, arriving on the ferries, onto freight/passenger carriages,and get rid of Bali's thru' truck traffic.
A railway to Singaraja wont encourage tourists...they want to travel and see the sights locally when they arrive on the north shore. I've done the trip a number of times with visitors and we always stop-off on the route to see places.
However I do like travelling on the train...I've been Banyuwangi to Surabaya and Jakarta to Jogjakarta and Bandung to Jakarta and they were fun trips (Executive class)..I took a small eski with beer/wine/water and sandwiches/fruit and had a picnic on board. There is a food carriage, and they deliver, usually nasi-goring or bakso.
A new high speed train from Jakarta thru Bandung/Semarang/Surabaya and onto Banyuwangi I'm sure would be successful if the price was right, It would need a slow-link to cater for Malang/Lawang/Jogja and other smaller towns but I think most of those lines have already been laid.
 

JohnnyCool

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Jan 10, 2009
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I agree...it makes more sense to have a fast railway from Gilimanuk to Padang Bai via Denpasar...that way they could transfer goods/passengers, arriving on the ferries, onto freight/passenger carriages,and get rid of Bali's thru' truck traffic.
A railway to Singaraja wont encourage tourists...they want to travel and see the sights locally when they arrive on the north shore. I've done the trip a number of times with visitors and we always stop-off on the route to see places.
However I do like travelling on the train...I've been Banyuwangi to Surabaya and Jakarta to Jogjakarta and Bandung to Jakarta and they were fun trips (Executive class)..I took a small eski with beer/wine/water and sandwiches/fruit and had a picnic on board. There is a food carriage, and they deliver, usually nasi-goring or bakso.
A new high speed train from Jakarta thru Bandung/Semarang/Surabaya and onto Banyuwangi I'm sure would be successful if the price was right, It would need a slow-link to cater for Malang/Lawang/Jogja and other smaller towns but I think most of those lines have already been laid.
Here we go all over again. I thought that the round Bali coastal railway was dead and buried, and now this incredible brainfart.

A railway from Gilimanuk to Denpasar would make some sense. All the way to Padangbai is way too ambitious. Maybe the “investors” should consider a floating railway, like the dumb north Bali floating airport. Denpasar to Ubud is totally ridiculous; where would the station be? (Underground might work but you wouldn’t get me on it in a hurry.)

Building infrastructure projects like these throughout Bali is always problematic. Acquiring/confiscating land, for example. Bali is full with many tens of thousands of temples for starters. Good luck dealing with local adat laws.

There was once an attempt to build a geothermal power station in Bedugul and the locals objected, so it didn’t happen.

Interesting to see what will happen (or not) when a new governor of Bali takes over the reigns. Everything could change yet again.

:(
 

sakumabali

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Apr 2, 2010
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hah of course it would change all again. If the new governor comes from the east some "experts" would suddenly declare that it is MUCH better to build the new airport in the east. If he's from the west the same. And if from the south the "experts" would suddenly declare that there is no need for a new airport. JEEZZ guys build some proper (toll)roads and highways instead!!
 

JohnnyCool

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Jan 10, 2009
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hah of course it would change all again. If the new governor comes from the east some "experts" would suddenly declare that it is MUCH better to build the new airport in the east. If he's from the west the same. And if from the south the "experts" would suddenly declare that there is no need for a new airport. JEEZZ guys build some proper (toll)roads and highways instead!!

It took them years to “decide” where the airport would be “located” up on the north coast. How about even more hours drive west of Singaraja? Such as Sumberkima (Gerokgak), which is closer to Gilimanuk than Singaraja. That possibility was investigated, studied at least four years ago! Seemed better than Kubutambahan because it only had four major temples (and five mosques) to contend with. Kubtutambahan has 14 temples and two “national heritage sites”. I wonder where the money went during the studies?

Recently, some local government guy stated that he could see no need for a new airport in the north. Not sure if he’s from the south.

...JEEZZ guys build some proper (toll)roads and highways instead!!

That’d be a start. Meanwhile, they should be concentrating on Bali’s water tables, coastal erosion, power supplies, poverty, overall pollution, waste management, etc. Oh – and stop young children riding motorbikes all over the place.
 

sakumabali

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Apr 2, 2010
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you can google "Pekutatan International Airport" ;) that one even had a notification in wikipedia some years ago
and that project even made a bit sense as it was ON the highway Gilimanuk - Denpasar, was government owned flat land with a potential to build a long runway. There were investors as it had potential (the whole east of Java, north & west of bali as a catchment area - there are airports in Europe with far less potential clients)

BUT the old governor from Bali refused to sign the papers as he had no interest to make West Bali prosper (you could also say that businessmen in the south gave him an envelope)
 

sakumabali

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oh I just see that the notification about PIA all has been deleted ;)
 
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Markit

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Majorca is 2/3 the size of Bali and has one international airport with 24 million customers last year. Chances for a new airport in Bali ... 0
 

Mark

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Apr 19, 2004
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Not likely to happen but if it ever does it will be coastal. Too expensive to cut through the mountainous center of the island.
 

JohnnyCool

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Jan 10, 2009
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Luhut is the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister. Why is he promoting railway systems?
Watch out – maybe amphibious trains are on the agenda. :p

EXTRA:

Just found this gem from the latest Bali Discovery:
Indonesia has offered a major rail project connecting Denpasar, Ubud and Singaraja to Mainland China.

Depends how you read it. One way suggests the railway will continue from Singaraja to mainland China. That could explain why the Maritime minister’s involved.
:confused:
 
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