Jakarta battles gridlock with new MRT


Joy ride: Joko (centre) accompanied by Cabinet ministers and other officials riding the MRT from Bundaran in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta as a train (above) arrives at a station. — The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network and Reuters

Jakarta: Jakarta commuter Irnawati can spend up to four hours daily in her car, but now she and millions of others may get some relief as the traffic-clogged South-East Asian city opens its first mass rapid-transit system.

Today, Jakarta will inaugurate the US$1.1bil (RM4.5bil) project seen as crucial to tackling some of the world’s worst congestion, which can turn commutes into hours-long endurance tests.

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