Depth report

　　

Editor's note: Today marks the first anniversary of the official operation of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway jointly built by China and Indonesia. Since its official opening on October 17, 2023, the Jakarto-Bandung high-speed Railway has provided more than 5.4 million passengers with time-saving, comfortable and convenient services, giving local people and international tourists more choices and better experiences when traveling, going to school, working and visiting friends and relatives, and becoming an emotional bond between people living in two different cities. It is also driving the development of the regions along the route with its own vitality. Jakara-bandung high-speed rail in Indonesia's economic, social, cultural and technological fields of radiation spillover effect is constantly appearing. In fact, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is just a microcosm of the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Indonesia in recent years. The closer cooperation between the two sides is quietly influencing the impression and perception of the Indonesian people, especially the young people, on China.

"With Javan, my son comes home more often."

"Whoosh! An excited cheer accompanied by the sound of camera shutters in the carriages of the Jakartabandung high-speed rail, many passengers in the front of the train screen displayed "current speed: 350 kilometers per hour" to take photos, this is the Global Times in Indonesia recently rode the Jakartabandung high-speed rail saw the scene. A year ago, Indonesian President Joko Widodo put forward the name "Whoosh" after a test ride on the Jakarto-Bandung high-speed rail, inspired by the sound made by high-speed rail units when they travel at high speed. Not only that, in the Indonesian language, the word "Whoosh" is also an acronym for "time-saving", "efficient" and "advanced", representing the Indonesian people's affirmation of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail. On overseas social platforms such as YouTube, typing the term in the search box can retrieve many videos of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail ride experience that have been played highly.

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway is the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and even Southeast Asia, and it is also a landmark project of the Belt and Road cooperation between China and Indonesia. The 142.3km Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway connects Indonesia's capital Jakarta and the famous tourist city Bandung, with a maximum operating speed of 350 km per hour, significantly reducing the travel time between the two places from more than three hours to 46 minutes, greatly improving traffic efficiency. Data show that as of the beginning of October this year, the cumulative passenger volume of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail has exceeded 5.4 million, of which about 300,000 are international passengers from 159 countries and regions around the world. The number of daily trains on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line has increased from 14 to 48, with a peak of 52 trains. Compared to when it first opened, the daily passenger capacity of the railway has doubled, from 9,000 to 18,000 to 22,000.

One year after its opening, passengers' enthusiasm for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has not diminished. The front of the high-speed train has become a mecca for "punching in", and passengers will take turns taking photos in front of the front sign. High-speed rail crew also because of thoughtful and perfect service and warm and beautiful image "fire out of the circle", there are always many people competing with the crew before the train starts to take photos. Every holiday, the carriage is almost full. In particular, the real-time speed display in front of the car has become the focus of the whole car, when the speed climbs to the highest, there will always be many passengers involuntarily issued "Whoosh!" To express surprise. There are also many passengers sitting by the window, happily experimenting with coins, mobile phones, etc., on the windowsill to see how they can maintain balance on the fast and smooth moving train...

Today, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway is not only an efficient and convenient means of transportation, but also a bond connecting people's emotions. On a recent Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail train, the Global Times special correspondent in Indonesia met a passenger who was planning to go to Jakarta. She told reporters that she has taken the Jakarto-Bandung high-speed rail four or five times, her son is attending university in Jakarta, and she often takes the high-speed rail to visit her child. There was even a time when I sent my children to school in the morning and in the afternoon I was able to take the high-speed train back to my home in Bandung. "With Javan, my son comes home more often," she said. It's just a whoosh, it's really comfortable, it saves time and effort."

A survey conducted in April this year showed that 44 per cent of passengers took the Jakarta-Bandung train for tourism, vacation or family activities. School, work, holidays, visiting friends and family... For thousands of ordinary people like Serra, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail has greatly shortened travel time and made commuting more convenient and comfortable.

Not only that, the special correspondent of the Global Times in Indonesia also noted that in the past year, the China-Indonesia operation and maintenance consortium has set up fast food restaurants, cold drinks, convenience supermarkets and other small business districts in Halim Station, Padalarang Station and Dekarur Station of the Jakarto-Bandung high-speed railway, attracting hundreds of shops to enter, and tourists can rest and eat here when taking the high-speed railway. Residents along the route also benefit. An efficient transport network makes much more possible, and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail has greatly improved the quality of life of the people.

It will inject strong impetus into the economic development of the regions along the route

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway not only facilitates the daily life of ordinary people, but also injects a strong impetus into the related industries and economic development of the regions along the line. The area through which the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway runs was once a zone where tourism resources need to be fully developed. Today, with the help of high-speed rail, small towns and villages that were previously unknown have been known to more people. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed Railway is like a vibrant "major artery" that continues to bring economic and social benefits to the regions along the route and promote the sustainable development and prosperity of the region.

Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, is a famous tourist city. After the opening of the Java-Bandung high-speed railway, the number of tourists in West Java increased by 94.84% in May this year, and the increase of tourists visiting Bandung this year was about 10%-15%, which led to the prosperity of local hotels, catering and cultural industries. Indonesian State Enterprise Minister Eric Tohir said recently that in terms of economic contribution, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project will contribute 86.5 trillion rupiah (10,000 rupiah about 4.6 yuan) to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Jakarta and West Java between 2019 and 2023. During the construction period, more than 75% of the services and raw materials of the railway were purchased from Indonesia, and thousands of skilled workers in welding, electricians, machinery and other fields were trained for the local people, creating a total of 51,000 direct employment. After entering the operation period, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project has created a total of 1,500 direct jobs.

According to the July issue of the financial information website "World Financial Review", in the first year of official operation, the China-Indonesia operation and maintenance consortium has gradually taken some effective measures to deal with the initial business challenges: the frequency of power outages has been significantly reduced, and the reliability of travel services has been improved; The refund system has been improved, transitioning from only supporting offline refunds at stations to online platforms.

In addition, Jakarta and Bandung have implemented more comprehensive "first mile" and "last mile" solutions to facilitate passengers from major transportation hubs to their final destinations by integrating multiple modes of transportation such as buses, light rail and dedicated regional trains, ensuring high mobility and seamless connectivity of the high-speed rail network. For example, according to Indonesia's Antara news agency reported in June this year, in order to meet passenger demand, Jakarta Halim Airport began to provide direct shuttle buses to the Jakarto-Bandung high-speed rail Halim station.

According to a report by the Jakarta Post in July this year, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail has improved Indonesia's energy efficiency and is expected to help Indonesia save 3.2 trillion rupiah in fuel costs every year.

Now, with the help of Chinese enterprises and professionals, Indonesia has also made remarkable progress in managing and operating high-speed trains. According to Antara News Agency in July this year, Indonesian drivers are currently able to operate the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail train at 350 km/h without carrying passengers. According to the report, this shows that under the careful guidance of Chinese professionals, Indonesian drivers have changed from the previous "observer" to "operator", which reflects the significant progress in the development of human resources in the Indonesian railway sector. In addition, the report also said that during the operation phase, the project side has trained a total of 600 local Indonesian employees in mechanics, infrastructure maintenance, train operation and other aspects, laying a good foundation for the long-term development of the future Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project.

The smooth operation of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway over the past year has also inspired further cooperation between China and Indonesia in the railway field. Indonesia's co-ordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut, who leads Indonesia's cooperation with China, said in April this year that given the successful experience of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, the two countries have agreed to form a team to study the possibility of extending the high-speed railway to Indonesia's second largest city Surabaya. According to the Jakarta Post recently reported that the Indonesian government is expected to complete the feasibility study of the extension program within this year.