First Chinese-made high-speed train cars arrive in Indonesia
An initial set of Chinese-made train cars for Indonesia’s first high-speed railway has arrived in Jakarta’s port
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An initial set of Chinese-made train cars for Indonesia's first high-speed railway arrived in Jakarta's port on Friday.
The 142.3-kilometer (88.4-mile) railway worth $5.5 billion is being constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd. The joint venture says the trains will be the fastest in Southeast Asia.
The railway line, which connects Jakarta and Bandung, a city in West Java province, is part of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. It is expected to cut travel time between the two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.
The eight train cars and an inspection train that arrived Friday were designed and built by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co. Ltd.
“The arrival of this series of high-speed trains is good news for Indonesia and shows that Indonesia can compete with other developed countries,” said Kartika Wijoatmojo, the deputy minister of State-Owned Enterprises.
Construction began in January 2016 of the Jakarta-Bandung line, which was planned as part of a 750-kilometer (465-mile) high-speed train project that would cut across four provinces on the main island of Java.
The rail deal was signed in October 2015 after Indonesia selected China over Japan in competitive bidding. China agreed to complete the railway without using Indonesian government money or requiring a government guarantee for loans.
The rail line was expected to begin operations in early 2019, but was delayed because of land acquisition and funding problems.