The South Sumatra Light Rapid Transit[5] (Indonesian: Lintas Rel Terpadu Sumatera Selatan, lit.
Starting construction in 2015, the project was built to facilitate the 2018 Asian Games and was completed in mid-2018, just a few months before the event.
Costing Rp 10.9 trillion for construction, the system utilizes trains made by local manufacturer PT INKA.
[9] Because Palembang was chosen to host the 2018 Asian Games, the project was pushed to be completed before the event was scheduled to begin.
[10] Groundbreaking for the project occurred in November 2015, with state-owned company Waskita Karya being appointed as the primary contractor following the issuance of Presidential Regulation 116 of 2015 on Acceleration of Railway Train Operation in South Sumatera Province.
[14] However, the completion date was moved to June 2018 with operations beginning in July, only one month before the Asian Games.
[18] Waskita initially paid for the construction, with the government reimbursing the fees over a four-year period.
Stretching 23.4 kilometres (14.5 mi) between the airport in the northwest and train depot in the southeast, the track is supported by 9 electrical substations and a third rail.
[37] The fares are subsidized by the central government, which spent Rp120–180 billion annually to cover the operating cost of the system.
[41] In November 2019, the operating company reported around 6,000 daily riders on weekdays and 10,000 on weekends, and that by October 2019 3 million trips had been completed.