MRT Scrapped; Bali Opts for ART Electric Tram
NusaBali reports that the Bali Provincial Government has announced it will abandon plans to construct a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRT) and is now focusing on pursuing an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system.
Preliminary plans call for the ART to connect Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to the Canggu tourism area.
Bali’s Governor Wayan Koster said plans for a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System have been abandoned in favor of an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system—an autonomous electric tram. Koster stated that the change was made because ART is considered more efficient and technologically easier to implement than MRT.
Questioned by the press on Thursday, 07 August 2026, during the inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of the Bali Regional Board of the Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI), Governor Koster succinctly stated that the MRT System is off the table, with an ART System now being pursued as the solution to Bali’s need for mass rail transport.
According to Koster, the choice of ART was based on various technical considerations and the efficiency of project implementation. “Yes, because it is far more efficient and technologically easier,” the Governor explained. Koster also sought to deny misconceptions that the much-discussed MRT project had already entered the construction phase. The Governor said that, to date, no physical construction of the project has taken place.
“There hasn’t been any construction yet,” Koster asserted. Instead, the Bali Provincial Government has begun preparing the initial legal framework toward realizing the ART project. One of the regulations currently being drafted is a Gubernatorial Regulation (Pergub) regarding the utilization of underground space.
MRT
ART
According to Koster, this regulation is urgently needed because the use of underground space is not yet contemplated in any existing spatial planning regulation. “A regulation on underground space utilization is being created. A Governor’s Regulation is being drafted because it isn’t covered in the spatial planning rules yet,” Koster said. Once the regulation is finalized, the government targets the commencement of ART construction in 2027.
”ART construction starts in 2027. But first, the Governor’s Regulation needs to be processed,” Koster said. Previously, Koster revealed that he had held several discussions with officials from PT Kereta Api Indonesia regarding the mass transit development plan. The shift in concept from MRT to ART is expected to deliver a more efficient, adaptable public transportation system that is better suited to technological advancements, while also helping alleviate traffic congestion in southern Bali—specifically along the corridor stretching from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to Canggu.
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