There are concerns about the opening Indonesian high-speed railway. ...... Fear that it will become a 'negative legacy' Indonesia's first high-speed railway opened on 2 January, the result of a USD 7.3 billion (USD 1.1 trillion) project and part of China's One Belt, One Road initiative. With a maximum speed of 350 km/h, it connects Jakarta to Bandung, a distance of 138 km, in about one hour. The route, which used to take three hours, has been significantly shortened and is expected to ease traffic congestion in the metropolitan area, which is said to be the worst in the world. On the other hand, some people seem to be wary of being saddled with Chinese debt, and some say that the Japanese method should have been adopted as originally proposed. ◆The first high-speed train in Southeast Asia, the Indonesian 'Whoosh', opens. The train consists of eight cars and has 601 seats. The official name is 'Whoosh', which is an acronym for 'short time, optimum operation and reliable system' in Indonesian. PT KCIC, a joint venture between the state enterprises of four Indonesian provinces and China Railway International, will be responsible for the operation. Plans are underway to extend the line to other major cities. According to CNN (2 October), Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasised the advanced nature of the train at the opening ceremony, saying it was "the first high-speed train in Indonesia, and the first in South-East Asia". Videos have already been posted on social media by passengers who have test ridden the train. As the train departed from Halim Station in East Jakarta and started its journey towards Padalaran Station in western Bandung, passengers seemed to enjoy the scenery of the Indonesian countryside from the spacious, air-conditioned train. Meanwhile, the road to opening was not smooth. Originally scheduled to open in 2019, it was significantly delayed due to land acquisition issues, the new corona pandemic and increased costs. Budget overruns reached the order of USD 1.2 billion (approximately JPY 180 billion), forcing the government to invest public funds, and other problems piled up. https://lnkd.in/g92TxUed
Edo 慧人 Naito 内藤
8mo
A story we have seen before and inevitably we will see what happens in the future
In determining fares, PT KCIC is likely to have to make tough choices, as Dr Siwage Dharma Negara, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly the Institute of South East Asian Studies), told Singapore's Channel News Asia (2 October), "Ensuring affordability is important, but at the same time, operators must also ensure cost recovery, as the project has reached a significant amount of money". Dr Negara also said that price incentives are needed to change people's behaviour and encourage them to use high-speed rail. If fares become too expensive due to inflated project costs, there is a risk that new infrastructure will not be used.