Railway industry in Indonesia - statistics & facts
The Indonesian railway system, built in 1867 under Dutch colonial rule, reached regions outside Java and was used both for public transport and for transporting agricultural produce. Since independence, the government has taken over its management, until it was fully nationalized in 1971. The state-owned company Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has revived rail transport in recent years, reactivating a considerable number of lines. However, the country's geography does not favor railway expansion, and to date, the network is concentrated only on Java and Sumatra. As of 2022, the operational rail network covered around 6.64 thousand kilometers, serving about 277 million annual passengers, and carrying around 58.1 million tons of freight. The country is currently expanding its network with the ambition of reaching 10,524 kilometers by 2030, initiating an era of transformation in the Indonesian transport sector.
