Indonesia’s US$7.3b high speed rail to begin service on Oct 1; no ticket subsidies for commuters
[JAKARTA] The first high speed railway in South-east Asia – a US$7.3 billion project in Indonesia funded largely by China – will begin commercial operations on Oct 1.
The Kereta Cepat Jakarta Bandung (KCJB) connects the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Bandung, the capital of West Java province. The made-in-China train will reduce the commuting time between the two cities to around 40 minutes, from three hours by a regular train.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who took a test ride on Wednesday (Sep 13), told reporters after his trip that he felt comfortable when walking or sitting inside the bullet train even when it reached went as fast as 350 km/h.
“This is civilisation speed,” he said. “But most importantly, we want to encourage people to switch from cars to mass transportation to reduce congestion and pollution.”
Noting that more than 100 trillion rupiah (S$8.86 billion) is lost due to severe traffic jams in the Greater Jakarta area and Bandung, Widodo said he hoped the KCJB will serve as a faster and more convenient mode of transport and boost economic development.
Widodo said there are no plans for the government to subsidise the ticket costs, although the initial stage of the commercial operations will be free to allow commuters to experience it first.
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Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, the president-director of train operator PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), said on Wednesday that fares will be 250,000 rupiah for a premium economy class ticket, and a bundle package that comes with a light rapid transit and feeder train ticket is expected to be 300,000 rupiah.
Indonesia’s transport ministry is expected to issue the operational permit certificate soon, after the results of some final safety checks are released.
“Right now, we are still conducting some trials, because safety is important,” Eva Chairunisa, the corporate secretary of KCIC told The Business Times. She said the trials are being carried out to test the safety of both the facilities and infrastructure.
Last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was in Jakarta to attend the Asean Summit hosted by Widodo, took a test ride on the KCJB.
The 142.3 km railway is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure and economic development project. KCIC is a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International.
The line will feature 13 tunnels and four strategically located stations – Halim (in eastern Jakarta), and Karawang, Padalarang and Tegalluar (all in West Java).
The KCJB began construction in 2015 and was expected to be ready by 2019. However, the project ran into numerous hurdles such as land acquisition disputes, environmental concerns, adhering to international safety standards, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The costs soared from an initial 66.7 trillion rupiah to 113 trillion rupiah.
In a bid to enhance regional connectivity, the authorities said the KCJB will be integrated with other train services such as the new Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Bekasi light rail transit and the Greater Bandung Commuter Line.
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