A view of a train that runs on the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, which was jointly built by Chinese and Indonesian engineers. (LIU YUCAI/FOR CHINA DAILY)
Involving major State builders, Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway seen boosting local travel
After his Sept 13 ride on the new Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the 142.3-kilometer line, jointly built by Chinese and Indonesian engineers, will boost commerce and tourism by slashing travel time between the two cities from over three hours to just 40 minutes.
Widodo called Indonesia's and Southeast Asia's first HSR project, which opened on Sept 7, the pride of his country's transportation system. As an achievement of the Belt and Road Initiative, the $8 billion project represents the first overseas foray of Chinese HSR technologies and incorporates the whole supply chain.
Linking Indonesia's capital city and the country's fourth-largest city with a maximum designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour for the trains, the HSR was constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a consortium involving Indonesia's state-owned firms and China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises.
On Jan 21, 2016, the railway laid the foundation for commencing the project, and full construction started in June 2018. On Nov 16, 2022, it ushered in its successful trial operation.
Successful completion
The Jakarta-Bandung HSR has four newly built stations — Halim Station in Jakarta urban area, Karawang, Padalarang and Tegalluar stations in West Java — and one engine car station.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang rode the HSR between Halim Station and Karawang Station on Sept 6 during his visit to Indonesia, and the 40-kilometer trip took only 15 minutes. Afterward, Li told the Chinese builders to ensure the high-standard opening and high-quality operation of the HSR, which spans nine counties and cities, with an estimated annual passenger flow exceeding 10 million during the first year of operation.
As Chinese HSR's first systemic footprint overseas that incorporates whole supply chains, construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR called for full technologies on technical standards, survey and design, engineering construction, equipment manufacturing, materials supply, operation management, talent training and comprehensive development.
China Railway No 4 Engineering Group Co Ltd was one of the builders, constructing 27.55 km of the line, including bridges, Tegalluar Station and Tegalluar engine car station. Chen Yi, chief engineer and chief economist of CREC4's project management department, said the builders faced challenges such as torrential rains, fluctuating weather, and mountains, valleys and complex geological formations along the line.
The total length of the bridges accounts for 61.5 percent, and tunnels extend for 11.7 percent while the roadbed takes up 26.8 percent, Chen said, adding that with numerous parcels of State-owned land, private land and commercial land along the line, several property disputes had to be resolved.
Overcoming difficult excavations and other challenges, the Chinese builders followed the major construction nodes to complete the work. Chen said the most critical job was the installation of box girders, noting that staff members from the CREC4 No 4 beam fabrication yard erected 1,007 of them between Jakarta and Bandung.
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