Jalan MH Thamrin (Jakarta)
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Jalan M.H. Thamrin or Jalan Thamrin (M.H. Thamrin Avenue or Thamrin Avenue) is a major thoroughfare in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. The road is located at the center of Jakarta, running from the north end of
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Jalan Jenderal Sudirman (''General Sudirman Avenue'') or Jalan Sudirman (''Sudirman Avenue'') is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. Named after Indonesian national hero Sudirman, the road runs from Patung Pemuda Membangun at the south ...
at West Flood Canal at the south end to the roundabout near Arjuna Wijaya Statue Jakarta at the north end. Developed in the 1950s, the road was a landmark of post-colonial Indonesia and continues to have a prominent importance in Jakarta.


Description

Thamrin Road is classified as a secondary arterial road in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. The road passes through five urban administrative villages: * Gambir, Gambir,
Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...
*
Kebon Sirih, Menteng Kebon Sirih is the northernmost administrative village of Menteng district of Jakarta. It has a postal code of 10340. Kebon Sirih is located to the south of Monas - a historic administrative center of Jakarta - and to the north of Menteng Residen ...
,
Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...
* Gondangdia, Menteng,
Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...
* Menteng, Menteng,
Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...
*
Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang Kebon Melati is an administrative village in the Tanah Abang district of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10230. See also * Tanah Abang * List of administrative villages of Jakarta {{unreferenced, date=March 2017 This is a list of admini ...
,
Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...
Thamrin Road is closed to traffic every Sunday from 6:00 until 11:00 as part of Jakarta Car Free Days campaign. The Thamrin road is one of the Odd–even Traffic Restriction Scheme implementation zones (Monday to Friday, 06:00-10:00 and 16:00-21:00)


History


Before Thamrin Road

The road that would become Thamrin Road first appear around late 1910s-1920s as a small lane running from Koningsplein West (now Medan Merdeka Barat) to Kebon Sirih. This lane was known as Gang Timboel. Prominent landmark near this small lane was a 19th-century Armenian Church for the Armenian community of Batavia. The church has been demolished. The former location of the Armenian Church is the green within the complex of Bank Indonesia.


1950s Kebayoran Baru

The development of the suburb Kebayoran in 1949 raised the need to link the suburb with the city center of Jakarta, and thus work on a new "highway" began in the same year. The northern half of this new highway received the name Jalan M.H. Thamrin by January 1951, after Indonesian National Hero
Mohammad Husni Thamrin Mohammad Husni Thamrin (16 February 1894 – 11 January 1941) was a Indo people, Eurasian-Betawi people, Betawi political thinker and Indonesian nationalist who advocated for the independence of the Dutch East Indies, Dutch colony in the Ea ...
. To avoid the occupation of the newly opened lands by illegal squatters - a major problem at the time - the government sold these lands cheaply to those who committed to build on it within three to six months. Despite this, time extensions had to be granted because buyers could not arrange finance or procure building materials. Among the early projects situated in Thamrin Road were Sarinah Department Store, Bank Dagang Negara building (now Wisma Mandiri), Ministry of Religion building, Wisma Nusantara,
Hotel Indonesia The Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta is one of the oldest and best-known hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Located in Central Jakarta, it was one of the first 5-star hotels in Southeast Asia and remains a major landmark of Jakarta. Its fame is often ...
and the prominent Bundaran Hotel Indonesia. Thamrin Road was largely completed by 1953.


1962 Asian Games expansion

With the arrival of the
1962 Asian Games The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...
, President
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
imagined the VIP visitors for the Asian Games arriving at
Kemayoran Airport Kemayoran Airport () (formerly ), also known in its old spelling as Kemajoran, was the principal airport in Jakarta, Indonesia from 1940 until 1985. Kemayoran was built during Dutch East Indies administration by the Department of Transport, Publi ...
, drove along Thamrin Road, be greeted by the Welcome Monument and stayed at
Hotel Indonesia The Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta is one of the oldest and best-known hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Located in Central Jakarta, it was one of the first 5-star hotels in Southeast Asia and remains a major landmark of Jakarta. Its fame is often ...
. For the Games itself, the same VIP visitors would be driven along Sudirman Road over the Semanggi cloverleaf bridge into the newly-opened
Gelora Bung Karno sports complex The Bung Karno Sports Complex (), better known as Gelora Bung Karno; formerly named the Asian Games Complex ( and the Senayan Sports Complex () from 1969 to 2001, is a sports complex located in Gelora, Tanah Abang, Gelora, Central Jakarta, border ...
where the competitions would take place. For the purpose of the game, both Thamrin and Sudirman Road were widened in the early 1960s. A regulation was also established which requires buildings along Thamrin Road to be minimum five-stories-high. This was difficult to achieve due to lack of funding and commercial building expertise at that time, and the fact that there were already several two-story government buildings along Thamrin Road. In the beginning of 1970s, Thamrin Road was already a major thoroughfare of Jakarta as envisaged by Sukarno. Buildings reached a minimum height of five stories e.g. ICA building (later the United Nations), Hotel Asoka, the Australian Embassy, and the state-owned developer Pembangunan Perumahan. Sudirman Road was still relatively devoid of development during the early 1970s compare with Thamrin Road, with the exception of the
Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex The Bung Karno Sports Complex (), better known as Gelora Bung Karno; formerly named the Asian Games Complex ( and the Senayan Sports Complex () from 1969 to 2001, is a sports complex located in Gelora, Tanah Abang, Gelora, Central Jakarta, border ...
. Several parades were enacted along the major thoroughfare, including Jakarta's anniversary parade and
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
parade.


Jalan MH Thamrin Pedestrian-Way Revitalization

Due to its strategic location, close to key landmarks such as Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, Monumen Selamat Datang, and Monumen Nasional, and as the first business district in Jakarta, Jalan MH Thamrin has significant historical value in the city's growth. To address the growth along Jalan MH Thamrin, a study for the redevelopment of Jalan MH Thamrin, including Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, was proposed in 1985. The focus was on improving the quality of pedestrian pathways and enhancing accessibility to public transportation. Well-designed pedestrian pathways aimed to connect
TransJakarta Corridor 1 The Transjakarta Corridor 1 is a TransJakarta, Transjakarta bus rapid transit route in Jakarta, Indonesia. The route operates between Blok M Bus Terminal, Blok M Terminal and Jakarta Kota railway station. It is the first route of the Transjakart ...
(Jakarta's first BRT corridor) and prepare for MRT accessibility, integrating the road with surrounding buildings. The negotiation process lasted 17 years and involved five different master plans due to concerns from landowners, primarily regarding security. Led by Governor Sutiyoso, the study and negotiations were carried out by the Provincial Government of Jakarta, supported by Pusat Studi Urban Desain (PSUD), and Pandega Desain Weharima (PDW). This process encountered setbacks following the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing, which led to the need for renegotiation of the initial agreements. This initiative became a prototype for managing pedestrian areas through public-private partnerships. Landowners who contributed part of their property for public pathways were given incentives as recognition. The boundaries between private land and pedestrian pathways were marked with gold-colored metal strips.


Transjakarta

Up until the 2000s, Thamrin Road consisted of four
carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...
s consisting of local-express lanes, 3 lanes for the express lane and 2 lanes for the local lane. With the introduction of
Transjakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...
BRT in 2004, one of the lane of the express lanes was converted into a dedicated lane for the BRT. Eventually, Thamrin Road was made a dual carriageway by removing the separator of the local and express lanes.


Motorcycle

The Jakarta administration in December 2014 introduced a ban on motorcycles from using Jalan Thamrin and the adjoining Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat. The ban was lifted by governor
Anies Baswedan Anies Rasyid Baswedan (, born 7 May 1969) is an Indonesian academic, activist, and politician who served as the Governor of Jakarta from 2017 to 2022. A student activist and political analyst before entering public service, he served as the Recto ...
in 2018.


Major buildings along the MH Thamrin Road


Intersections

There are four intersections: * Bank Indonesia Fountain Roundabout, to West Medan Merdeka Street (north), Budi Kemuliaan Street (west), and South Medan Merdeka Street (east) * Kebon Sirih Street intersection * K.H. Wahid Hasyim Street intersection, also known as Sarinah intersection * Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, to
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Jalan Jenderal Sudirman (''General Sudirman Avenue'') or Jalan Sudirman (''Sudirman Avenue'') is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. Named after Indonesian national hero Sudirman, the road runs from Patung Pemuda Membangun at the south ...
(south) and
Menteng Menteng is a district () in the administrative city of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Menteng is surrounded by the districts of Senen and Matraman to the east, Tebet and Setiabudi to the south, Tanah Abang to the west, and Gambir to the north. ...
(southeast)


Transportation

Jalan M.H. Thamrin is currently served by and stations of Jakarta MRT. Sudirman station of
KRL Commuterline KRL Commuterline, commonly known as Greater Jakarta Commuter rail, Jakarta Commuter rail, and KRL Commuter Line Jabodetabek is a commuter rail system for Jabodetabek, Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. It was previously known as KRL Jabodetabek. It ...
and BNI City station of Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link are located at the south end of the road as a part of Dukuh Atas TOD.


Bus routes


TransJakarta

There are four stops for the
TransJakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...
busway along Jalan M.H. Thamrin, mainly serving for Route 1, 6A, and 6B. They are: *
Tosari Tosari is a village in the Tengger Mountains of East Java, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Compris ...
, close to Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, in front of UOB Plaza and The City Tower. * M.H. Thamrin, in front of
Sarinah Building Sarinah Building () is a 74-metre tall 15-floor department store in Gondangdia, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. It was the first skyscraper to be built in Jakarta. Sarinah is located at the intersection of Jalan Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim and Jal ...
, General Election Supervisory Agency (Badan Pengawas Pemilihan Umum) and Menara Eksekutif. * Kebon Sirih, in front of
Bank Indonesia Bank Indonesia (BI) is the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia. It replaced in 1953 the Bank of Java (, DJB), which had been created in 1828 to serve the financial needs of the Dutch East Indies. History Bank of Java King William ...
(north) and near Wisma Mandiri (south). * Bundaran HI Astra, in front of Bundaran HI with a passageway linking the stop with Bundaran HI MRT station. The Transjakarta routes that serves the M.H. Thamrin Road are: * BRT Corridors ** Blok M- Kota ** Ragunan-Balai Kota via Kuningan ** Ragunan-Balai Kota via Semanggi * Inner city feeder ** 1N Tanah Abang–Blok M ** 1P Senen– Blok M ** 9D Pasar Minggu–Tanah Abang * RoyalTrans ** 1T Cibubur JunctionKota * #jakartaexplorer tour buses ** BW4 (Jakarta skyscrapers)


Other buses

Apart from Transjakarta, here are the list of public transportation routes that serve the M.H. Thamrin Road: * Metromini S640 Pasar Minggu-Tanah Abang * Metromini P15 Senen-Setiabudi * Kopaja P19 Tanah Abang-Ragunan * Kopaja S602 AC Monas-Ragunan * PPD AC11 Pulo Gadung-Grogol * PPD AC16 Lebak Bulus-Rawamangun * PPD P67 Blok M-Senen * PPD 213 Grogol-Kampung Melayu * Mayasari Bakti AC52 Tanah Abang-Bekasi (via Komdak - Sudirman - Thamrin - Bulak Kapal) * Mayasari Bakti AC52A Tanah Abang-Jatiasih (via Komdak - Sudirman - Thamrin - Jatibening) * Mayasari Bakti AC62 Senen-Poris Plawad (via Slipi - Sudirman - Thamrin - Karawaci) * Mayasari Bakti AC70 Tanah Abang-Kp. Rambutan (via Komdak - Sudirman - Thamrin - UKI - Ps. Rebo) * Mayasari Bakti AC70A Tanah Abang-Cileungsi (via Komdak - Sudirman - Thamrin - Cibubur) * Bianglala Metropolitan AC44 Senen-Ciledug (via Stasiun Gambir - Sudirman - Thamrin - Kebayoran Lama) * Bianglala Metropolitan AC57 Harmoni-Ciputat (via Sudirman - Thamrin - Fatmawati - Lebak Bulus) * Bianglala Metropolitan AC76 Senen-Ciputat (via Sudirman - Thamrin - Fatmawati - Lebak Bulus) * Jasa Utama P125 Blok M-Tanjung Priok (via Sudirman - Thamrin - Ps. Baru)


Train lines


Jakarta MRT

The M.H. Thamrin Road is also served by the North–South Line of the Jakarta MRT There are two stations: * Bundaran HI Bank DKI, near
Plaza Indonesia Plaza Indonesia (originally Plaza Indonesia Shopping Center) is a shopping mall located at Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The mall is part of the ''Plaza Indonesia Complex'', which is a mixed development complex often referred to ...
, Pullman Hotel, Wisma Nusantara and Selamat Datang Monument * Thamrin (under construction), near BPPT,
Bank Indonesia Bank Indonesia (BI) is the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia. It replaced in 1953 the Bank of Java (, DJB), which had been created in 1828 to serve the financial needs of the Dutch East Indies. History Bank of Java King William ...
Head Office, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Indosurya Finance Center, Wisma Mandiri, and
Bangkok Bank Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (, Royal Thai General System of Transcription, RTGS: Thanakhan Krung Thep) is one of the largest commercial banks in Thailand. Its branch network includes over 800 branches as of May 2024, within Thailand, wit ...


KRL Commuterline

This road is also accessible with the Cikarang Loop Line of the
KRL Commuterline KRL Commuterline, commonly known as Greater Jakarta Commuter rail, Jakarta Commuter rail, and KRL Commuter Line Jabodetabek is a commuter rail system for Jabodetabek, Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. It was previously known as KRL Jabodetabek. It ...
There is one station: * Sudirman Station


Airport Railink

M.H. Thamrin Road is also served by the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link There is one station: * BNI City Station


See also

*
History of Jakarta Jakarta is Indonesia's capital and largest city. Located on an estuary of the Ciliwung River, on the northwestern part of Java, the area has long sustained human settlement. Historical evidence from Jakarta dates back to the 4th century CE, whe ...
* Sarinah *
Mohammad Husni Thamrin Mohammad Husni Thamrin (16 February 1894 – 11 January 1941) was a Indo people, Eurasian-Betawi people, Betawi political thinker and Indonesian nationalist who advocated for the independence of the Dutch East Indies, Dutch colony in the Ea ...


Notes


References


Works cited

*Berkmoes, R.V. ''et al''. ¨Indonesia¨. Lonely Planet, 2010. * {{Roads of Jakarta Roads of Jakarta Central Jakarta Central business districts in Indonesia Shopping districts and streets in Indonesia