Whoosh 1 indonesia, high-speel railway, joko widodo

Jakarta

Karawang (elevated station)

Halim (above-ground station)

Padalarang (elevated station)

Tegalluar (above-ground station)

Depot Tegalluar

Existing tracks used by medium-speed trains

Proposed extension of Whoosh from Bandung to Surabaya

Jakarta

Surabaya

Kediri

Solo

Yogyakarta

Semarang

Cilacap

Cirebon

Bandung

ROUTE

TIMELINE: HOW WHOOSH BECAME A REALITY

Extension of Whoosh to Surabaya A proposed extension to Surabaya, funded by China, is in its initial phase. In April, Widodo met China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and pushed for the completion of a feasibility study.

2008

2015

2016

2020

2023

2024

Japan makes its pitch Japan made the first move by trying to introduce its famous Shinkansen high-speed railway technology to Indonesia. There was an initial proposal to develop a route from Jakarta to Bandung, with travel time to be reduced from three hours to just 35 minutes at a cost of 78 trillion rupiah. There were many discussions over the years, but nothing came to fruition.

China muscles its way in China and Indonesia signed an agreement in March 2015 to signal the former’s interest in a Jakarta-Bandung rail link. A month later, China – eager for the project to be part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative – submitted a formal bid, much to Japan’s dismay. In October that year, Chinese and Indonesian state-owned firms inked an agreement to build Indonesia’s first high-speed railway. The initial budget was reported to be in the region of 66 trillion rupiah.

Construction In January, Indonesia approved a 142.3 km high-speed railway line from Jakarta to Bandung, with stations at Halim, Karawang, Padalarang and Tegalluar. The project was to be managed by transportation company KCIC, and owned by Indonesia (60 per cent) and China Railway International (40 per cent). Construction began that month, with the aim of completing the project in 2019.

Covid-19 slows things down After several earlier delays, the pandemic caused a lengthy halt to the construction. By the middle of February, as the virus began spreading around the world, the project was just 44 per cent finished. Land acquisitions were nearly complete at this stage. In September, KCIC reported that the project was 60 per cent done. The delays caused a budget overrun of about 18 trillion rupiah.

Testing and launch During the trial period, the high-speed train reached a top speed of 385 kmh on Jun 22. In September, dry runs with public passengers started. Commercial operations began in October after the railway was inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Eight carriages

Wi-Fi

USB charging points

Bag hangers

Luggage racks

Minibar

Accessible toilets

EACH WHOOSH TRAIN FEATURES

350 kmh

Whoosh

Laos-China Railway

160 kmh

KLIA Ekspres

160 kmh

Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link

140 kmh

KTM Electric Train Service

120 kmh

North-South Commuter Railway

120 kmh

State Railway of Thailand ASR Class

FASTEST TRAINS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

STATISTICS

Travel time

35 min (Jakarta to Bandung direct)

Distance covered (Jakarta to Bandung)

142.3 km

Distance covered (Jakarta to Surabaya)

780 km

Maximum operating speed

350 kmh

Cost to build (Jakarta to Bandung)

US$7.3b

Maximum capacity

601 passengers

SOURCE: AFP, TEMPO, KOMPAS, THE JAKARTA POST, BISNIS.COM, REPUBLIKA.ID, CNN, SEASIA, CNA, ANTARANEWS, THE STAR GRAPHICS, RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY GRAPHIC: HYRIE RAHMAT, BT

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ILLUSTRATION & ANIMATION: TEOH YI CHIE, JESSIE LAM, BT