KAI launches Rp 11 trillion plan to revive West Sumatra railways

Construction schedule and proposed routes

The program will begin with the 15.3-km Kayu Tanam-Padang Panjang section, with construction awaiting completion of feasibility studies and other technical assessments. KAI expects the West Sumatra program to take three to four years to complete.

The intended reach extends beyond that first section. Speaking in connection with the launch, Andre Rosiade, deputy chair of Indonesia's House of Representatives Commission VI, said reactivation would continue to Solok and Sawahlunto, with hopes of reaching Sijunjung as well.

Andre said a second phase is planned from Padang Panjang through Bukittinggi and Payakumbuh to Limbanang, on the border with Riau province.

Housing along the railway poses a challenge, according to Dony Oskaria, head of the State-Owned Enterprise Regulatory Body (BP BUMN) and chief operating officer of the Danantara investment agency. At the launch, he said many homes had been built on the tracks and asked local governments to help explain the plan to residents.

Expanding service beyond Java

KAI president director Bobby Rasyidin said at the groundbreaking ceremony that President Prabowo Subianto had repeatedly directed the company to spread railway services more evenly across Indonesia, according to state news agency Antara.

Bobby put Java's operating railway network at around 7,000 km, compared with fewer than 1,000 km across the rest of the country, where roughly half the population lives. Of Sumatra's approximately 900 km of operating lines, only 84 km are in West Sumatra. The province previously had about 280 km, he said.

The West Sumatra work forms part of KAI's broader Trans Sumatra Railway plan to connect Banda Aceh at the island's northern tip with Bandar Lampung in the south. At a June 3, 2026 parliamentary hearing, Bobby estimated that the island-wide program would need US$20 billion to US$25 billion, or about Rp 350 trillion, Petromindo reported.

For that broader program's initial phase, KAI is prioritizing the 478-km Banda Aceh-Besitang link and preparing its basic design.

KAI's 2026-2030 corporate transformation roadmap also sets targets for restoring about 726.5 km of dormant lines in West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh, according to Bloomberg Technoz. It includes construction of about 1,110 km of new lines already listed in the National Railway Master Plan (RIPNAS).

A railway shaped by steep terrain and coal

The first section slated for reactivation belongs to the historic Padang-Bukittinggi railway. KAI's heritage account records the completion of the Padang-Padang Panjang stretch on July 1, 1891. From Kayu Tanam, the steep climb required cog, or rack, rails. Construction of the entire Padang-Bukittinggi line cost 18.3 million guilders.

That account also traces the decline of West Sumatra's railways to the Sawahlunto coal industry. A sharp drop in coal production toward the end of 2000 left railway activity in the province almost at a standstill. Cog railway services eventually stopped after Sawahlunto's coal reserves were exhausted.