​The fourth most populous country in the world with a population of 275 million will this summer join the select “club” of states where high-speed trains run. We are talking about Indonesia, which built a 142-kilometer line between the cities of Jakarta and Bandung for 8 billion dollars. The new trains will run in just 40 minutes. Chinese, compared to 195 minutes with current trains.

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The first tests were conducted on Monday at a speed of up to 180 km/h, and passenger transportation is planned to start on August 18. Until then, the idea is for the fastest test trains to reach speeds of 385 km/h.

Monday’s trip took just over an hour, which is already a big improvement over the current situation. The distance is the same as between Bucharest and Prediale (140 km), and the fastest trains take about an hour and 48 minutes.

The first high-speed trains will arrive in Indonesia in autumn 2022, marking the first time high-speed trains produced in China have reached their export destination. The total cost was not small: 8 billion dollars for 142 km, but the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung will soon be only 36 minutes, compared to more than 195 minutes now. To begin with, it will be 40 minutes.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with 275 million inhabitants. The rail network is not very developed, and the fastest sections have an average speed of 80 km/h.

Trains now run over 3 hours 15 minutes for the 173 km between Jakarta and Bandung. On the new, more direct and shorter high-speed railway, it will be 142 km, and the trip will last at least 40 minutes, depending on the number of stops.

The first high-speed line in Indonesia was built by a consortium with 60% ownership by domestic companies and 40% by Chinese companies. The project was financed by a loan from the China Development Bank.

The track was laid for the entire distance in March, 16 km out of 142 km pass through tunnels. The railway is built according to Chinese standards, and the maximum possible speed is 350 km/h. Although at first it will definitely be smaller for safety reasons.

11 electric trains with 600 seats each were delivered by the Chinese company CRRC Qingdao Sifang. The contract for the trains was signed in April 2017 for $370 million.

The total cost of this railway is more than 8 billion dollars, although initial estimates indicated 6 billion dollars. Dynamic tests began several months ago.

Initially, it was thought that the line could be ready in 2019, but technical problems arose and the expropriation took a long time. And the pandemic brought serious delays.

The program is part of China’s larger Belt and Road initiative, which has not been as successful as the Chinese would have liked.

The country with its capital in Jakarta will be the first in Southeast Asia with a high-speed rail line.

Sources: The Straits Times, Global Times, Xinhua News, International Railway Journal