Indonesia Takes First Delivery of Chinese-Made High-Speed Trains
Jakarta. Two sets of the high-speed train arrived at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Friday to be operated in the country’s first-ever high-speed railway connecting the capital and the city of Bandung in West Java.
The Chinese-made train sets mark the first delivery for the megaproject that started in 2016.
Designed and developed by rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co. Ltd., the train has a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour but Indonesian officials have said the speed will be reduced according to conditions for safety reasons.
The high-speed train project is targeted to come into operation in June 2023, according to Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, a deputy for the state-owned enterprise minister.
“The arrival of these high-speed train sets is good news for Indonesia, which aims to be on a par with developed countries,” he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
The first batch of the delivery includes a high-speed electric multiple unit (EMU) train and a comprehensive inspection train (CIT). Both will undergo on-track trials in November.
Indonesia expects to receive a total of ten train sets until March 15, 2023.
The Indonesia-China High-Speed Train project, or KCIC, is a collaboration between Indonesian state-owned companies which have a 60 percent share and a Chinese consortium that holds the remaining share.
The project also includes the construction of a 142-km railway track between Jakarta and Bandung that according to KCIC President Director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi has been 85 percent completed as of last month.
The high-speed trains will serve 68 trips per day and significantly cut land travel time between the two cities from two and a half hours to just 45 minutes.
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