Jakarta transit report (2023 edition)

Jakarta is set to be the most populous city in the world, overtaking Tokyo. Yes, the capital is moving to the jungle, but it’s business as usual in the business capital of this enormous country.

Jakarta is famous for its bad traffic, so if it overtakes Tokyo then it’s going to need a transit system like Tokyo to survive.

Jakarta currently has 5 commuter lines, 2 light rail lines, 1 metro line, and an airport rail link. This is what the urban railway network of Jakarta looks like in 2023 (click here to see the map in its full-size glory).

Meanwhile, this is what the full rail network looks like in Tokyo (you definitely need to see this one in all its full-size glory).

Comparisons are relative, and it is unfair to compare any city to the rail transit of Tokyo. For myself, being based in Ho Chi Minh City with exactly zero urban railways, 9 urban railways would be a dream.

I visited Jakarta in August 2023 and rode the urban railways throughout my trip. This is my trip report on the urban railways and other transport systems in Jakarta.

MRT

Jakarta has one MRT line, which sounds bad if you didn’t know there was already a functioning commuter system. When the MRT opened, the media made it sound like it was the first of any kind of rail transit.

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