Indonesia: Indonesia has unveiled the first-ever bullet train in Southeast Asia, a high-speed rail system linking two major cities in the country.
The 86-mile (138-kilometre) fast train, officially called WHOOSH (which stands for “time-saving, optimal operation, reliable system” in Indonesian), operates on electricity, causing no direct carbon emissions.
The $7.3 billion project, funded largely by Chinese state-owned firms as part of China’s Belt and Road initiative, was finally opened to the public.
A big inaugural event took place at Jakarta’s Halim railway station. President Mr. Joko Widodo, First Lady Ms. Iriana, and several cabinet ministers were in attendance.
“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train is the first high-speed train in Indonesia, and the first in Southeast Asia, with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour,” Mr. Widodo stated.
“This is not without good teamwork from all parties, including the central government, local government, state-owned enterprises, private sectors and public as well as the Chinese government and its related companies – all working together to finish this project,” Mr. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating maritime and investment minister, remarked.
The new bullet train will run between Halim railway station in East Jakarta and Padalarang railway station in West Bandung, which is Indonesia’s second-largest city and a prominent centre for arts and culture.
It zooms at a speed of about 217 miles per hour, reducing the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from three hours to less than an hour, according to officials.
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