Public trials on the 15.7km north-south Line 1 between Hotel Indonesia traffic island and Lebak Bulus commenced on March 12. The first phase serves seven elevated and six underground stations. During March and April, Jakarta MRT will operate between 05.00 and 22.30 with eight trains in service. Operating hours will then be extended, with 14 train in service between 05.00 and 00.00. Services are operated by a fleet of six-car trains supplied by Nippon Sharyo and designed to comply with Standard Urban Railway System for Asia (Strasya) standards. Construction of the 9.2km underground section was split into three packages: Shimuzu, Obayashi, Wijaya Karya, and Jaya Construction were awarded two contracts, with the third going to a joint venture of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction and Hutama Karya. The Shimuzu-Obayashi-Wijaya Karya-Jaya consortium was also chosen to build the three elevated sections. Construction began in October 2013 and tunnelling was completed in February 2017. The project is being funded through a Yen 125bn ($US 1.14bn) soft loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency which has a 40-year maturity with a 10-year grace period. The city will be responsible for repaying 51% of the loan, with the Indonesian government covering the remainder. The second phase of the project will extend the line 7.8km from Hotel Indonesia Roundabout to Kampung Bandan. Like Phase 1, Phase 2 is being financed by Jica.
