RAILWAYS of INDONESIA

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb , THE JAKARTA POST , PADANG Fri, 01/16/2009 The Archipelago State railway company PT Kereta Api will soon operate an excursion train serving Padang city to Sawahlunto in West Sumatra, passing through six regencies and offering beautiful sights along the 150-kilometer railway line. KA West Sumatra Regional Division spokesman Syafrial Romeo said the train service was slated to be launched in February with package tours but no regular service. It is expected to serve domestic and foreign tourists in groups. "We are still waiting for West Sumatra Governor Gamawan Fauzi to discuss the plan with the heads of regencies," he said Tuesday. The train service is scheduled to leave the Simpang Haru station in Padang and travel by tourist sites such as the Lembah Anai valley and its waterfall, across a 101-meter long and 19-meter high bridge, and 19-kilometer around Lake Singkarak. One of the line's unique features is a 33.8-kilometer cog railway track in Lembah A...

On 3 December 2008 E1060 left Ambarawa One of the of the four locomotives preserved in working order at the Ambarawa Railway Museum, the E1060, will soon return home. This rack and pinion engine was brought to Ambarawa in 1981 from West Sumatera. There it played an important role in transporting coal mined around Sawahlunto to Emmahaven (Teluk Bayur port). E1060, which was built in 1966 by Esslingen, Germany, and other engines in the series, however, had a relatively short working life. Within a couple of years they were displaced by rack Diesel engines. The regional head of PTKA (the Indonesian Railway company) in Semarang informed the Indonesian Railway Preservation Society (IRPS) Semarang that E1060 is already being prepared to be transported to West Sumatra. The Central Java provincial government has agreed to release E1060 and the governor of West Sumatera and the mayor of Sawahlunto have agreed to share the cost of moving E1060. In West Sumatera E1060 will be put in to service...