It should have been launched in 2019, but manufacturing delays and the Covid-19 pandemic got in the way. It was finally this Monday that the very first high-speed train in Southeast Asia was inaugurated in Indonesia.
Named “Whoosh” – the acronym for “Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal”, which means “time saving, optimal operation, reliable system” – the train was designed to carry more than 600 people between Jakarta and the large city of Bandung, southeast of the capital. The 142 km journey takes three quarters of an hour, around two hours less than before, with peaks at 350 km/h.
The new silk roads
The “Whoosh”, the cost of which increased from 5 to 7 billion dollars, was co-built by four Indonesian national companies and China Railway International. The Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, had also traveled on board at the beginning of September, before this official launch.
This investment is part of the “New Silk Roads”, a pharaonic plan which should make it possible to develop, thanks to Chinese funds, roads, ports, railways and other infrastructures outside China. Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed last week the government’s intention to extend the line to Surabaya, the archipelago’s second largest city.