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Whoosh or wait? Will fatal Indonesia train crash put brakes on its high-speed rail ambitions?
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People watch as a technician works after a deadly collision between a commuter line train and a long-distance train on April 28.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA - Months before a commuter train carriage was crushed in Bekasi, outside Jakarta, Indonesian ministers were speaking of the next leap forward: extending the China-backed high-speed rail line Whoosh, which now runs from Jakarta to Bandung, farther to Surabaya.
The proposed route would slice across Java, cutting one of Indonesia’s longest overland journeys from up to 10 hours to around three hours.
