Indonesia to conduct study on Bandung-Surabaya high-speed rail link: Coordinating Minister
The soft launch of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail link is scheduled for August later this year to coincide with Indonesia’s Independence Day.

A Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train in Jakarta's Halim station, after finishing a trial test at 350 kmh on Jun 22, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Danang Wisanggeni)
JAKARTA: Indonesia wants to conduct a preliminary study on a Bandung-Surabaya high-speed rail link connecting the country’s most populous island Java from west to east, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investments Luhut Pandjaitan said on Thursday (Jun 22).
Mr Pandjaitan made the remarks after trying out the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train during a trial run - part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) landmark project in Indonesia.
"We want to report to the president about preliminary studies for one (high-speed train) from Bandung to Surabaya.
“Of course, with our current experience, there will definitely be a lot of savings that we can make,” Mr Pandjaitan said.
Mr Pandjaitan and Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi rode on the high-speed train from Bandung to Jakarta as it was tested for the first time at its projected speed of 350kmh during commuter travel.
“This was the first time, and God willing, it will go up to Surabaya,” Mr Sumadi said.
“Extraordinarily, (the train travelled at) 350kmh, and it was stable. It could run without us needing to hold on (for support).”

He also revealed that the high-speed train managed to hit a speed of 385kmh.
The project consists of 11 electric passenger trains and one inspection train.
They are fully built by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, a state-owned China Railway Rolling Stock subsidiary.
Each train has eight carriages and can carry up to 600 passengers at any one time.
It has a VIP class for 18 passengers, a first-class carriage that can carry 28 passengers, second-class carriages for 555 passengers and a dining carriage.
It is projected that 30,000 passengers will be carried daily once the trains are operational.
SOFT LAUNCH IN AUGUST
Mr Sumadi said that all of the trains will be tested until the end of July so that they will be ready for a soft launch slated to be attended by President Joko Widodo in August.
During the soft launch, selected members of the public would be invited to try out the new high-speed trains for free.
It is hoped that the trains will be fully operational by October.
The high-speed rail project will be the fastest in Southeast Asia and is Indonesia’s first fast-train rail link.
The 142-kilometre rail line will connect Jakarta with West Java’s capital Bandung through four stations in about 40 minutes.
On a regular train, the same journey currently takes about three hours.

Funded by China Development Bank, the high-speed railway project began in 2015 and was initially targeted to be completed in 2019.
It was awarded to China after a competitive bid against Japan.
The project faced several delays due to problems such as land acquisition and COVID-19 health and movement restriction orders.
When the trains arrived in Indonesia in September last year, it was the first time high-speed trains made in China were exported to another country.
At that time, PT KCIC, the consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state companies building the railway, targeted construction to be ready by June.

But as of Thursday, works were still ongoing, including at Jakarta’s Halim station, where construction was about 65 per cent ready.
The project is also facing financial issues. In February, the government agreed on a budget overrun of US$1.2 billion.
Read this story in Bahasa Indonesia here.