Development of Light Rail Transit Infrastructure in Jakarta Project

The LRT Jabodebek Project introduced several innovative structures and technologies that stand out as unprecedented in railway infrastructure.

Among the project’s 10 long-span bridges, the Kuningan Bridge posed a unique engineering challenge. It spans three transportation levels—a ground-level road, an existing underpass, and an elevated toll highway—crossing them perpendicularly. To address this, a balanced cantilever bridge with a main span of 148 metres and a curvature radius of 115 metres was constructed, making it the longest balanced cantilever bridge for a railway line in the world.

Across the elevated sections of the mainline, excluding the long-span bridges, 30-metre-long precast U-shaped girders were installed on seismic isolation Lead Rubber Bearings (LRBs). While LRBs effectively reduce seismic forces on the substructure, their mobility results in girder joint displacements that exceed the track restorability limit of 2mm. To overcome this, Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd. (OCG) led the development of a bespoke solution—the Clamping Device (CD). Designed from the ground up, the CD restricts track displacement to within 2mm during a service-level earthquake (with a 50-year return period), thereby maintaining uninterrupted commercial operation. In the event of a more severe earthquake, the CD’s fixing bolts detach automatically, allowing the LRBs to move freely and prevent structural damage. While this may necessitate repairs to the rail at the girder joints, extensive structural repairs are avoided.

As a secondary measure to address the movement of LRBs and enhance passenger safety, OCG also initiated the implementation of the Seismic Detection Alarm System (SDAS). This system is integrated with the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and the railway signalling system to halt trains in the event of a strong earthquake—before rail displacement exceeds the derailment threshold of 14mm. The integration of these three innovative systems—LRBs, CDs, and SDAS—represents a global first in railway infrastructure and seismic resilience.

In terms of contract management, a major milestone was the successful revision of the handover process from contractor to operator. Initially, the main contract required handover only after “100% completion,” with zero defects—a clause that posed significant risks of delay. Recognising the impracticality of this condition, OCG began advocating nearly two years in advance for the internationally recognised concept of “substantial completion.” Through persistent negotiation and consensus-building among all stakeholders, the contract was eventually amended to adopt this approach. This marked the first time the concept of substantial completion was formally incorporated into a major infrastructure project in Indonesia.