Traveling from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to the popular tourist city of Bandung used to take over three hours; now, with the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, it’s just "the time to enjoy a cup of coffee." As of October 17, this railway—the first high-speed line in Indonesia and Southeast Asia—has officially been in operation for two years, carrying over 12 million passengers. Despite Indonesia’s frequent rain and earthquakes, the train’s on-time rate has remained above 95%.
According to China News Service, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway officially opened for operations on October 17, 2023. Data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. show that the railway’s current single-day highest passenger volume has reached 26,700, with high-speed trains safely traveling over 5.65 million kilometers, and its far-reaching influence is increasingly evident.
The entire railway is 142.3 kilometers long with a maximum operating speed of 350 km/h, shortening the Jakarta-Bandung journey from over three hours to just 46 minutes. Over the past two years, the joint China-Indonesia operations team has proactively adapted to the burgeoning passenger demand, with the average number of daily trains increasing from 14 at opening to a peak of 62, making it one of Indonesia’s busiest rail arteries.
The line employs flexible ticket pricing and supports a variety of payment methods, including cash, bank cards, and e-wallets. Online ticket purchases account for over 85% of sales. Commercial facilities such as dining and retail are available at stations along the route, continuously improving the passenger experience.
The joint China-Indonesia operations team has drawn on China’s high-speed rail safety management experience, adapting it to Indonesia’s rainy and earthquake-prone climate by using advanced safety risk monitoring systems and disaster prevention equipment, as well as establishing comprehensive emergency response plans. In two years, over 36,747 high-speed trains have operated on the line.
Since opening, the railway has not only changed the transportation landscape between Jakarta and Bandung, but has also fueled economic development along the route. After Karawang Station began operation, local industrial zones’ connections to ports and airports became much closer, turning them into new focal points for foreign investment. Around Bandung’s Padalarang and Tegalluar stations, tourism, dining, retail and other sectors have rapidly gathered, creating clusters of hundreds of small and micro-enterprises.
According to incomplete statistics, since its inauguration, more than 500,000 international tourists have traveled to Indonesia to experience the high-speed rail, boosting the local tourism economy.