The Bali Railway is a proposed light rail connecting Ngurah Rai International Airport to Kuta and the southern beaches. There has never been a railway on Bali, so this would be the first if it is built.
Bali has a population of over 4 million people, and most of the population is around Denpasar and the southern beaches. The majority of visitors to Bali are staying in this area, so a railway from the airport has been proposed as a way to ease traffic congestion on the island.
A plan for a Bali railway was announced in 2011 when the Ministry of Transportation presented a proposed map of a Bali railway system totalling 560 kilometres. The original plan had a circular railway around the island, as well as railways into the interior.
The railway plan resurfaced with the proposed North Bali Airport, which would be built on a mad-made island in the sea at Kubutambahan (about 18km east of Singaraja). It’s a slow journey to get from the north coast to the southern beaches, so a railway was included in the plan as a way to entice flyers to use the new northern airport.
The most recent railway announcement was at the start of 2020 for a light rail spanning 4.78 kilometres from the airport to Kuta. The proposed LRT would be built underground as as the area is already heavily urbanised.
There have been few details made public about any of these plans, so this page will have more details added as they become available. It’s also more probable that a railway transport system will never be built, so this page will serve as a historical archive of a never-built railway.
Links and resources
News: skyscrapercity.com
News Archive
2020
Stuck in Bali traffic? Airport to get LRT access to reduce congestion – [22/01/20]
“The LRT will span 4.78 kilometers with four stations between a would-be satellite terminal in Kuta, Bali’s tourist epicenter, and the airport, Nindya Karya acting president director Haedar A. Karim, said.”
2019
Choo-Choo!: Train travel for tourists on track as Bali gov’t seeks to develop island’s infrastructure – [27/05/19]
“Wayan said the first step to improving transportation on the island would entail developing a railway network from the airport to several tourist areas.”
Bali governor moving ahead with plans for rail system as part of overall island access plan – [May 2019]
“While plans are to build a system that encircles the entire island, Koster says the first priority is to build a link between Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport – Mengwitani – Singaraja that will start to be built in 2020”
2018
Bali governor pushes island rail system to replace discontinued public buses – [18/10/18]
2017
Indonesia’s national rail network aims for more growth, less inequality – [04/09/17]
“The network will also include a separate circle line around Bali to offer better access to untapped parts of the resort island where new tourism developments can be built.”
Indonesia offers Bali railway project to China – [15/06/17]
“Luhut said the railway would connect Denpasar to Ubud in Gianyar regency and Singaraja in Buleleng regency. It is expected that tourists will use the railway to travel from densely populated Denpasar to the two regencies.”
North Bali’s new international airport almost ready to go – [14/04/17]
“The airport will also be equipped with an aero city and a marina, as well as passenger trains to transport them in and out of the airport.”
2016
Floating airport to be built in northern Bali – [27/05/16]
2015
Ocean airport plan making waves in Bali – [26/05/15]
“The location is approximately 70km north of the existing Ngurah Rai International Airport at Denpasar, and the new airport is likely to be connected to the island’s southern resort areas by road and rail links.”
2013
China Railway interested in building monorail in Bali – [22/03/13]
“China Railway Corporation, the national railway operator in China, has conveyed its excitement to invest in the construction of a monorail connecting all regencies in Bali, officials have said.”
2011
Bali railway on track for 2014 – [11/04/11]
“A proposed railway line circuiting the Bali coast and intended to help relieve the island’s chronic traffic congestion may be operational by 2014, a government minister has claimed. Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said he hoped around half of the planned 560-kilometre line would be completed by the end of the current government’s term in 2014.”
National Railroad Master Plan – [March 2011]
Report from the Ministry of Transportation showing a proposed map of a Bali railway system.
[View large size.]
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