Indonesia is preparing to launch Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail service, reducing travel time between the two cities from three hours to 40 minutes.
The railway line, which connects Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and West Java province’s heavily populated capital Bandung, is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. As the Jakarta-Bandung portion of the rail project nears 90% completion, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Bandung’s Tegallur station on Thursday – one of the railway’s four stations – where eight train cars and early September.
Earlier reports said Widodo would invite his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to take a ride on a Chinese-made bullet train after the summit of the Group of 20 largest economies in Bali next month. However, Widodo told reporters on Thursday that the plan is still being discussed with Xi, and “it’s still not final.”
The train cars were designed and manufactured by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Railway Company of China. The September delivery was CRRC’s first export of high-speed trains in an 11-train contract of KCIC400AF eight-car trains and one KCIC400AF-CIT inspection train. The $364.5 million contract was awarded to CRRC in April 2017.
The rail line construction began in 2016 and was initially expected to start in 2019 but was delayed until June 2023 due to disputes involving land purchases and environmental issues. The 142.3-kilometer (88.4 mi) railway, worth $7.8 billion, is being constructed by PT Kereta Sepat Indonesia-China, or PT KCIC, a joint between the Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co., Ltd. is enterprise. The joint venture said the trains would be the fastest in Southeast Asia.
CRRC claimed that the KCIC400AF train could reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers (217 mi) per hour, traverse curves with a minimum radius of 150 meters (492 ft), and was equipped with electric motors, 625,000 in each. Watts is the power. Cars will be divided into three classes: VIP, first, and second, and several vehicles with laspacespace between seats will be allocated for passengers with limited mobility.
The manufacturer said the trains had been specially modified to adapt to Indonesia’s tropical climate and equipped with an improved safety system to track earthquakes, floods, and other emergencies. The length of the eight-car train is 208.9 meters (685.3 ft). The rail deal was signed in October 2015, when Indonesia selected China over Japan in a competitive bid, and was financed by a loan from the China Development Bank for 75%. The remaining 25% is the consortium’s funds.
The project is part of a 750-kilometer (466 mi) high-speed train plant that will cut across four provinces on the main island of Java and end in Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city.
Widodo’s signature policy improved infrastructure and helped him win a second term in the 2019 elections.
The government has completed other rail projects, including light-rail transit services in Palembang and Jakarta, while LRT plans are in the pipeline in five different cities, including the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.
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