Indonesia’s First High Speed Line Begins Testing

June 23, 2023

Rendering of future high-speed rail station on the outskirts of Jakarta.

Indonesia’s First High Speed Line Begins Testing

Trial runs for Indonesia’s Jakarta to Bandung 220-mph high-speed line began this week. Service on the 88-mile corridor are expected to launch this August, making it the first high-speed train in Southeast Asia. Trains will be able to carry up to 601 passengers, with stops at four stations and making 68 trips per day. The shortest trip time will take about 36 minutes, a massive improvement from the current 3-hour long train trip.

The Jakarta to Bandung project is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The project cost a little over $7 billion and is being built and operated by Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, a joint venture between China Railway International Co. Ltd and a consortium of Indonesian state companies. Financing for the project came from the China Development Bank and Indonesia’s state budget.

This project is part of a much larger effort to improve transit and intercity rail throughout Java island, the geographic and economic center of Indonesia. After this initial high-speed line launches, Indonesia plans to conduct a preliminary study for a Bandung to East Java high-speed corridor.

Wondering what this high-speed line would look like in America? One comparison is Philadelphia to New York City, which currently takes about 2 hours to drive, and 1 hour and 10 minutes on Amtrak’s Acela. Upgrading this corridor for 220-mph service would nearly cut the Acela’s trip time in half.

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