VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Pulau Air is the oldest train station in West Sumatra. After 44 years, it did not operate, the station will be reactivated. The plan is that the station is used for access to a number of tourism areas. A budget of Rp 40 billion is prepared to revive the Pulau Air Station along a new 2.5 km- rail network to Padang Station. One of them is Muaro Port, which is the entrance to Mentawai Islands. The reopening of Pulau Air Station coincides with the presence of Minangkabau International Airport with airport train facilities, the Minangkabau Express. Quoted from the book History of Indonesian Railways, Pulau Air Station was part of the first railway network on the island of Sumatra. The network was completed in 1891 by Sumatra Staatspoorwegen, the railroad service of the Dutch East Indies government in Sumatra.

This train line starts from Pulau Air Station to Padangpanjang which covers a distance of about 70 kilometers. The line continues to Bukittingi City about 90 kilometers. This route was officially used on October 1, 1892 in conjunction with the operation of the Port of Emmahaven, which is now known as Teluk Bayur Harbor. The existence of this railway network cannot be separated from the existence of a coal mine in Ombilin, Sawahlunto City in 1868 by the leading geologist of the Dutch East Indies, Willem Hendrik de Greve. Initially, the route was used to transport coal, plantation products and passengers to the ports of Muaro and Emmahaven in Padang.

The name 'Padang Station' is the new name for Simpang Haru Station which is the main Minangkabau Express station. The effort to revive the Pulau Air Station train line is not an easy matter. PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has also replaced all railroad rails with a new model and rebuilt new buildings and guardrails along the railroad tracks. Meanwhile, the old Pulau Air station building has been maintained and added with a new building, which is equipped with a number of facilities, such as the station head's room, a special room for lactation, prayer rooms, toilets, and a new platform. The station is also equipped with parking lots for 15 cars and 40 motorbikes. The station is also the fastest access to the Kota Lama area and Kampung Cina, the heritage tourism object of Padang City.