Russia: Fifty Indonesian industrial companies will be on show at the largest industrial exhibition in the Eurasian region, which opens in Yekaterinburg on Monday.
Indonesia, this year’s partner country, will run a national pavilion covering five priority sectors, among them high-tech manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and industrial zones and investment.
Indonesia’s railways are expanding fast. National operator PT KAI is midway through a 2025–2029 plan to grow the network from 7,000 km to 10,500 km, alongside targets to lift freight traffic by 15% and passenger traffic by 10.6%.
New rolling stock is central to hitting those numbers. Local manufacturer PT INKA is currently building 612 coaches for new-generation trains under a contract with PT KAI. This is one of the largest procurements in the operator’s history.
CLI-225 series train from PT Inka for Greater Jakarta’s KRL commuter network. Source: Kenzamicziel/X
Deliveries have been arriving on several fronts. A new batch of EMD GT38AC diesel locomotives from US manufacturer Progress Rail has started entering service, and new EMUs built by PT INKA and China’s CRRC are now on the network too. Late last year brought funding approval for 30 more EMUs to serve the Greater Jakarta suburban network.
High-speed train built by CRRC on the Jakarta–Bandung line. Source: CRRC
The country’s biggest rail moment so far came in 2023, when the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed line opened. CRRC supplied 12 high-speed trains for the route, marking China’s first export of this type of rolling stock.
Light rail is a more modest story: only Jakarta and Palembang have LRT systems running today. PT INKA supplies rolling stock for both, and in 2025 Japan’s Nippon Sharyo picked up a new order.
PT Inka’s battery tram-train in Indonesia. Source: Maulana Surya/Antara
More LRT lines are now under construction in Bandung and Surabaya, and there’s talk of bringing trams back too. PT INKA is developing a national battery tram-train, currently in testing.
On the business side, INNOPROM’s programme includes “Business Forum. Russia–Indonesia Industrial Dialogue”, with Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov and Indonesia’s Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita both taking part. A separate session, “High-End Materials & Solutions — Key Drivers of Russian-Indonesian Partnership,” is also on the agenda.
