‘Whoosh’ goes South-east Asia’s first high-speed rail in Indonesia
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Tegalluar station in front of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway trains in West Java.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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JAKARTA – Indonesia launched South-east Asia’s first high-speed railway
With a top speed of 350kmh, the bullet train named Whoosh can get between the capital Jakarta and Bandung in 45 minutes. The 140km journey would previously have taken about three hours by train.
“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train marks our efficient, friendly and integrated mass transportation system,” Mr Widodo said during a ceremony at the capital’s central station. “It is a symbol of our modernisation in public transport, seamlessly connecting with other modes of transportation.”
Mr Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, said the 600-capacity train was the first high-speed rail transportation in South-east Asia.
It is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a decade-old programme of China-backed infrastructure projects.
The President said the name was actually an acronym, standing for a tag line of “Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal” – which in Bahasa Indonesia means “Saving time, optimal operation, reliable system”.
It was built by KCIC, which is made up of four Indonesian state companies and Beijing’s China Railway International.
The project was initially set to cost less than US$5 billion (S$6.8 billion) and be completed by 2019.
However, delays caused by construction challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic led to a surge in costs.
In preparation for its opening, officials conducted public trials for the new high-speed route.
Last week, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed that the government would extend the high-speed train route from Bandung to the country’s second-biggest city, Surabaya.
In August, Chinese Premier Li Qiang joined Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan on a ride aboard the train during his Jakarta visit for summits with South-east Asian leaders.
Mr Luhut told reporters last Thursday that Mr Widodo plans to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in the future to ride the train. AFP
