Series of high-speed rail projects in Southeast Asia highlight strong ties

A bullet train test run will ap this year's Indonesian presidency of the Group of 20 Summit.

The train will operate on a new high-speed line, a key joint Sino-Indonesian project that is part of the Belt and Road Initiative and which is expected to boost Indonesia's economic potential and promote connectivity in Southeast Asia.

More important, the project underscores the strength of economic cooperation between the two nations and how such collaboration stands to benefit not just them, but the rest of the region.

While Indonesian officials are preparing for next week's G20 Summit on the resort island of Bali, the PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, or KCIC, consortium is busy laying the groundwork for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway.

Indonesia's first bullet train has a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour — significantly reducing the three-hour journey time between Jakarta, the nation's capital, and Bandung in West Java province. The train will complete the 142-km journey in just 40 minutes.

The project, which is nearly 90 percent complete, is expected to be operational by the middle of next year. A trial section of the line completed on Saturday is ready for the test run.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said the test will be staged on Wednesday to coincide with the G20 summit.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who visited the project construction site on Oct 13, said the new link will ease daily commuting, improve economic competitiveness, and develop new economic growth points in Jakarta and Bandung.

He said it is not only Indonesia that stands to benefit from the project, which will also help realize the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' or ASEAN's "big idea of regional connectivity through seaports, airports and other fast trains".

"We expect the railway to be part of international connectivity, either by integrating it with seaports or airports," Widodo was quoted as saying by Antara, Indonesia's state-owned news agency.

Widodo alluded to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, which features a key strategy to build a railway system aimed at easing travel throughout the region.

Andyka Kusuma, public transportation analyst/researcher at the University of Indonesia's civil engineering department, welcomed the project, as it will benefit regular commuters.

"Travel time for the public will be reduced, enabling workers living in areas outside of Jakarta and Bandung to work in the two cities," he said.

Kusuma compared the project with the high-speed line China developed between Beijing and Tianjin, which led to the building of a vast high-speed rail network nationwide.

Key milestone

Aditya Dwi Laksana, chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society, said opening a high-speed railway is an important milestone in the nation's public transportation system.

The bullet train will give travelers a safe, fast and comfortable trip between Jakarta and Bandung, and will be especially convenient for those who currently stay in Jakarta during the week and spend weekends in Bandung with their families.

Laksana said the line will also boost business in areas close to stations along the route.

He hopes the project will lead to a technology transfer, as operating the new line will allow Indonesia to further develop an inter-city rail transportation system that uses high-speed technology.

The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a significant achievement that will improve the image and credibility of Indonesian railways, Laksana said.

Rail travel has long been part of Indonesia's public transportation system, with trains being used to carry passengers and goods in the sprawling nation since the 19th century. Indonesia was one of the first Asian countries to develop a rail transportation system, with the first line launched in 1867 in Semarang, capital of Central Java province.

Trains have also played a key role in Indonesia's history. During the 1940s, when Indonesian freedom fighters seeking independence fought Dutch troops, trains were used to smuggle the fighters and firearms.

In 1997, at the height of the Asian financial crisis, Indonesia's burgeoning middle class resorted to traveling by train as air fares became increasingly prohibitive. This trend led to the rise of executive and business class trains, including the Argo Dwipangga, which serves the Solo-Jakarta route, and the Sancaka, which operates between Yogyakarta and Surabaya, capital of East Java province.

Indonesia's railway system was nationalized in 1963, following the establishment of Perusahaan Negara Kereta Api (State Railways Corp), the forerunner of the present-day PT Kereta Api Indonesia, or KAI, (Indonesia Railways Co).

KAI is one of the companies that comprise PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia, a consortium of Indonesian state-owned companies that holds a 60 percent stake in KCIC. Its partner, Beijing Yawan Co, a syndicate of Chinese railway companies, holds the remaining 40 percent stake.

KCIC was founded in 2015 after China successfully bid against Japan for a project tender launched by Widodo's government. The high-speed line was due to be completed in 2018, but issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the work schedule.

Rahadian Ratry, KCIC's corporate secretary, said 13 tunnels have been completed on the route, along with the main tracks.

"We are focusing on accelerating our construction work… to meet the 2023 target," he said.

In September, China shipped a high-speed electric passenger train and an inspection train designed especially for the Indonesian high-speed project. These trains have a maximum operating speed of 350 km/h.

Ratry said the trains are being reassembled at a depot in Bandung. China is scheduled to deliver 10 more trains to Indonesia in the coming months.

The trains are designed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co, which uses the advanced technology for China's Fuxing bullet trains. This is the first time that China has exported high-speed trains.

Pragmatic technology

Linda Tjia Yin Nor, assistant professor at City University of Hong Kong's department of public and international affairs, said Indonesia's high-speed rail project is in line with China's decision to export related technology it has developed over the years.

"China focuses on (more) pragmatic technology," Tjia said.

Tjia has extensively studied the development of high-speed railway technology in China and Japan. She cited the trains customized for Indonesia, noting that those manufactured in China are made to adapt to local weather conditions and the natural environment.

Tjia said China also focused on cost reduction by using less-expensive materials. As a result, China adapts to the needs of a developing country, which include low costs, but not necessarily lower quality.

She described Indonesia's high-speed rail project as "an icon, a signature overseas infrastructure project for China".

Tjia said China's focus on pragmatic technology is the reason for its involvement in other railway projects in Southeast Asia.

For example, in December, the China-Laos Railway opened. The 1,035-km line connects Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, with Vientiane, the Laotian capital. With a designed speed of 160 km/h, the journey on the line now takes 10 hours, compared with 30 hours by road.

The China-Laos Railway has helped cross-border trade. As of Oct 31, more than 1.7 million metric tons of goods had been shipped on the Laotian section of the route, with an average monthly growth rate of just over 17 percent, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Meanwhile, China Communications Construction Co and state-owned Malaysia Rail Link are building Malaysia's mega rail project, which is expected to be completed by 2026. The 665-km East Coast Rail Link will operate between Port Klang in the western state of Selangor and the northeastern state of Kelantan.

In addition to transporting passengers, building these railway projects — in particular, bullet trains — coincides with an online shopping boom in Southeast Asia.

Tjia said bullet trains transport goods and provide express delivery services, as they are fast and follow a regular schedule.

"High speed rail is not only for passengers, it also enables you to make money by delivering goods — especially small, high-value goods," she said.