Indonesian leader takes a test ride on Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has taken a test ride on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian President Joko Widodo took a test ride Wednesday on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
The $7.3 billion rail project, funded largely by China, connects the capital, Jakarta, and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province. It is to begin commercial operations on Oct. 1 and will cut travel time between the two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.
The 142.3-kilometer (88.4-mile) railway was constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, known as PT KCIC, a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd. The joint venture said the trains will be the fastest in Southeast Asia, with speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph).
Widodo toured the railway’s first station, Halim KCBJ in eastern Jakarta, and then rode the made-in-China bullet train to Bandung’s Padalarang station, one of the railway’s four stations, in about 25 minutes, before taking a feeder train to downtown Bandung.
He told reporters after getting off the train that he felt comfortable “while sitting or walking” inside the bullet train at its top speeds.
“This is civilization speed!” Widodo said. “But most importantly, we want to encourage people to switch from cars to mass transportation to reduce congestion and pollution.”
Widodo said that congestion is estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion a year, and he urged people to use trains, subways and buses rather than private cars.
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