The ceremony was also attended by the transport minister Mr Budi Karya Sumadi, the minister for state-owned enterprises, Ms Rini Soemarno, and the governor of Central Java Mr Ganjar Pranowo.

The 13.5km line will run from Sola Bala station in the centre of Surakarta northwest to the airport. The line will be built by a consotium of Indonesian Railways (KAI), PT Angkasa Pura I, and PT Pembanunan Perumahan.

PT Inka, Indonesia, will supply four four-car DMUs for the service which will operate at 30-minute intervals. Each train will seat around 200 passengers.

The airport, which currently handles 1.5 million passengers per year, is currently being doubled in size to 26,000m2. The work is due to be completed in 2018.

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