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Southeast Asia’s first high-speed train ready for operation by 2021
Breakthrough: A construction worker walks near the Walini tunnel, which was officially inaugurated on Tuesday
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reakthrough: A construction worker walks near the Walini tunnel, which was officially inaugurated on Tuesday. The 608-meter tunnel in Bandung, West Java, is the first tunnel out of 13 others to be completed along the 142-kilometer railway route.(Antara/M. Agung Rajasa)
State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno has seen the light at the end of the tunnel for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project after witnessing the completion of one of the project’s most arduous tasks: the Walini Tunnel.
Following the completion of the tunnel, the minister was upbeat the China-funded project could be completed by 2021.
Rini expressed optimism during the inauguration of the 608-meter tunnel in Bandung, West Java, making it the first tunnel out of 13 others to be completed along the 142-kilometer railway route.
“We will finish it by 2021. By then, we will be the first to have a high-speed railway in Southeast Asia,” Rini said on Tuesday.
She claimed the project would reach 59 percent progress by the end of 2019 and it now stood at 17 percent.
In 2018, the Indonesia-China consortium, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the investor, had a tough time picking up speed on the project after facing land procurement issues.
The setback meant only 5 percent of progress was recorded in mid-2018, two years after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officiated the groundbreaking ceremony in 2016.
Now, KCIC president director Chandra Dwiputra said the company had acquired 96 percent of the land needed for the railway and said the remainder would be acquired by mid-2019.
The project has recently slowed because of Ramadan, he said. Last year, the Transportation Ministry temporarily stopped construction in areas near the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road during Idul Fitri holiday to prevent congestion.
Chandra promised the company would gradually increase its workforce from 6,000 to 10,000 in the next few months to achieve its targets and make up for the delay.
He also attributed difficult soil conditions and poor weather conditions as some of the roadblocks but claimed to be addressing them through various measures.
He gave assurances that his team was making progress and were expecting to finish another tunnel in Purwakarta, West Java, by the end of the year. The trial run for the Tunnel Boring Machine in its Jakarta counterpart is also underway.
“Today is a historic day,” he said during the Walini Tunnel’s inauguration on Tuesday. “The dream of having a high-speed railway system will soon be a reality.”
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is expected to help transport commuters and goods within 45 minutes between the two cities.
Housing the newly inaugurated tunnel, Walini Station is one of the four stations on the route. The other three stations are located in West Java’s Karawang, Jakarta and Bandung’s Tegalluar.
To maximize connectivity most stations will feature transit-oriented development systems, including Tegalluar’s station that will connect with Bandung’s LRT.
As of Tuesday, the project had used 25 percent or US$1 billion of its $4.5 billion loan from the China Development Bank (CDB), Chandra added. The loan is 75 percent of KCIC’s investment of $6.07 billion as the remaining will come in the form of equity from KCIC and shareholders PSBI and Beijing Yawan HSR Co.
With the gradual disbursement of the funds, the company will connect all structures by 2020 between stations and trains will be on the tracks by early 2021, Chandra projected.
But University of Indonesia transportation expert Alvinsyah argued the ambitious target was merely to motivate stakeholders, which could take a toll if its operators fail to plan the construction properly.
He cited the LRT project in Palembang, South Sumatra, as an example of the repercussions of rushed decisions, causing the operators a Rp 9 million loss per month because of a shortage of passengers given the lack of awareness about the transportation system.
“I would rather see the decision makers focus on resolving remaining issues and anticipate future ones, even if these measures force them to go over their expected [deadline],” Alvinsyah said.
“But if an issue does come up I hope they will take responsibility and avoid making the public their scapegoat instead.”
