Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway nears completion
The first-ever high-speed railway connection in Southeast Asia is completed by almost two-thirds, railway developer PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) said.
The track will connect Indonesia’s capital Jakarta with the country’s fourth-largest city Bandung in West Java over a distance of 142.3 kilometers with a top speed of up to 350 km/h.
Factored in partial lower speeds on the track in urban surroundings, travel time between the two cities will take 45 minutes – compared to five hours or more by road or three hours on the existing railway line. The high-speed coaches will be able to carry more than 600 passengers on each trip.
KCIC said it has completed 64 per cent of construction on the high-speed line, overcoming delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunnel drilling has even reached 75 per cent completion.
Project costs for the fast railway top $6 billion
KCIC, the project’s contractor which will later operate the line, is a consortium of Indonesian state-owned enterprises under PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia and Chinese rail companies under Beijing Yawan High-Speed Railway.
Investment for the railway line amounts to more than $6 billion. The project has been plagued by delays such as flooding, land acquisition issues and budget overruns, and eventually by the pandemic. Meanwhile, completion is planned for the second half of 2021.
Commenting on the project, Indonesia’s coordinating maritime and investment affairs minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the high-speed railway was important as it marked a turning point in the modernisation of Indonesia’s public transportation system.
“The project could be the modern mass transportation system that could solve our mobility needs,” he said in a statement.
The first-ever high-speed railway connection in Southeast Asia is completed by almost two-thirds, railway developer PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) said. The track will connect Indonesia’s capital Jakarta with the country’s fourth-largest city Bandung in West Java over a distance of 142.3 kilometers with a top speed of up to 350 km/h. Factored in partial lower speeds on the track in urban surroundings, travel time between the two cities will take 45 minutes – compared to five hours or more by road or three hours on the existing railway line. The high-speed coaches will be able to carry more...
The first-ever high-speed railway connection in Southeast Asia is completed by almost two-thirds, railway developer PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) said.
The track will connect Indonesia’s capital Jakarta with the country’s fourth-largest city Bandung in West Java over a distance of 142.3 kilometers with a top speed of up to 350 km/h.
Factored in partial lower speeds on the track in urban surroundings, travel time between the two cities will take 45 minutes – compared to five hours or more by road or three hours on the existing railway line. The high-speed coaches will be able to carry more than 600 passengers on each trip.
KCIC said it has completed 64 per cent of construction on the high-speed line, overcoming delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunnel drilling has even reached 75 per cent completion.
Project costs for the fast railway top $6 billion
KCIC, the project’s contractor which will later operate the line, is a consortium of Indonesian state-owned enterprises under PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia and Chinese rail companies under Beijing Yawan High-Speed Railway.
Investment for the railway line amounts to more than $6 billion. The project has been plagued by delays such as flooding, land acquisition issues and budget overruns, and eventually by the pandemic. Meanwhile, completion is planned for the second half of 2021.
Commenting on the project, Indonesia’s coordinating maritime and investment affairs minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the high-speed railway was important as it marked a turning point in the modernisation of Indonesia’s public transportation system.
“The project could be the modern mass transportation system that could solve our mobility needs,” he said in a statement.
