Indonesia is set to launch Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, a project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will cut travel time between the capital and another major city from the current 3 hours to about 40 minutes.
According to reports, the Chinese-made bullet train named "Whoosh" is built to take more than 600 people to and from Jakarta and the Javan city of Bandung in 45 minutes.
Despite delays, cost overruns, and doubts about its commercial viability, President Joko Widodo has championed it and will be inaugurating Indonesia's 142.3-kilometre high-speed railway on Monday.
Indonesia's $7.3 billion high-speed railway, largely funded by China, was built by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture between four Indonesian state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd.
According to the joint venture, the trains will be the fastest in Southeast Asia, with speeds of up to 350 kph. China Railway has agreed to transfer its technology to Indonesia so that in the future the country's high-speed trains can be made domestically, as per Chinese officials.
The project was started in 2016 and the line was originally expected to begin operations in 2019. The project faced delays due to land acquisition disputes, environmental concerns, and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally budgeted at 66.7 trillion rupiah ($4.3 billion), but costs eventually escalated to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.3 billion).
The trains have been built as per Indonesia's tropical climate, equipped with a safety system that can respond to earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions. It is expected that the 209-meter train has a capacity of 601 passengers.
Ticket prices had not been finalized yet, but PT KCIC estimated one-way prices per passenger would range from 250,000 rupiah ($16) for second class to 350,000 rupiah ($22.60) for VIP seats.
Photo: X/CGTNFrontline
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