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High-speed railway delayed again, but it’s for the better, experts say
Operators of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway have announced yet another delay of the flagship project’s soft launch, to early September, citing the need to ensure preparedness and safety.
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The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train arrives at Tegalluar Station in Bandung regency, West Java, during a trial run on June 22. (Antara/Bagus Ahmad Rizaldi)
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perators of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway have announced yet another delay of the flagship project’s soft launch to early September, citing the need to ensure preparedness and safety.
The announcement means trains will not start running on Aug. 18, which was supposed to mark the beginning of a public free trial.
“As the first high-speed rail link in ASEAN, operating the train requires very careful preparation. All aspects will be prepared properly to prioritize customer safety,” PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) spokeswoman Eva Chairunisa said in a statement on Monday.
The KCIC is the Jakarta-based Indonesian-Chinese consortium responsible for the high-speed railway project.
This is in line with Deputy State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo’s statement on July 31 that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo would ride the train for the first time on Sept. 1 and officially inaugurate it five days later in a bilateral event with China.
That would leave less than a month before the planned commencement of commercial operations on Oct. 1.
Prior to the announcement, the KCIC asked the government to consider granting the company a “temporary operating license” to launch operations on Aug. 18, according to a mid-July document seen by The Jakarta Post.
