In the next eleven days, ships carrying Indonesian-made railroad cars will dock to Chitagong Port, Bangladesh. There are 22 train cars made by PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) (Persero) which were sent to Bangladesh. This means, until the end of October 2019, PT INKA has sent 116 trains from a total of 250 trains ordered by Bangladesh.
“The 116 exported trains are a combination of 50 BG (broad gauge) trains and 66 MG (meter gauge) trains ,” said PT INKA (Persero) Director Budi Noviantoro, Saturday (10/26).
A total of 22 MG-type trains will depart on Sunday (27/10) from the Jamrud Pier, Tanjung Perak Surabaya, and it takes around 11 days to arrive at Chitagong Port, Bangladesh. According to Managing Director of PT INKA (Persero) Budi Noviantoro, the 22 trains are expected to arrive on November 7, 2019. After arriving, the train will be operated by Bangladesh Railways.
The difference between BG and MG type trains lies in the width of the track (rail) used. BG type trains are used on the tracks with a width of 1,676 millimeters. While the MG type train is used on the tracks with a width of 1,000 millimeters.
The export to Bangladesh is a series of efforts by PT INKA (Persero) to increase its export market abroad. Previously, INKA had also fulfilled other overseas train orders, such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia.
“Hopefully by the end of this year we can have a contract for the export of trains to Sri Lanka,” Budi concluded.
Source : PT INKA’s website