TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPlan for new Jakarta-Bandung fast train raises questions over Whoosh
The envisioned Kilat Pajajaran railway project threatens to cut into the market for the existing high-speed Whoosh service connecting the same two cities.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
The interior of a train car of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail (HSR) service, branded Whoosh, is seen in this undated photograph. (KCIC)
T
he West Java administration has unveiled a plan to construct a new railway line to provide faster and integrated connectivity between Jakarta and Bandung, an initiative experts warn may cut into the market for the Whoosh high-speed rail (HSR) service connecting the same two cities.
The plan is part of a broader collaboration agreement between the provincial authorities and state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), firmed up through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Nov. 25, which lays the foundation for massive railway infrastructure development in the region.
“Kilat Pajajaran will cut travel time, making it quite fast; from Gambir [Station] to Bandung will only take one-and-a-half hours,” West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said, as quoted in a press release.
According to the West Java Regional Revenue Agency’s (Bapenda) website, the project is estimated to require Rp 8 trillion (US$482.2 million) in investment from the local administration, with Rp 2 trillion to be disbursed annually over the envisioned four-year construction period from 2027 to 2030.
KAI president director Bobby Rasyidin said the project study would begin in early 2026.
The Kilat Pajajaran is expected to further connect Bandung to wider areas in the eastern part of West Java, including Banjar, Garut and Tasikmalaya, with a total travel time of three hours from Jakarta to Banjar.
Governor Dedi demanded that cities and regencies invest in the project’s development. “Regencies that don’t invest in building the Kilat Pajajaran train line will not have the train stop there. It will pass through. Stopping in Bandung is enough,” he said.
