Jakarta, 22 April, 2024 JAKARTA: The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) commemorated six months of successful operation on Wednesday, announcing a remarkable milestone of transporting 2.56 million passengers. PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture consortium between Indonesian and Chinese state-owned firms responsible for the construction and management of the HSR, reported this achievement, as per Xinhua.
Since its commencement of commercial operations in mid-October last year, the railway has completed a total of 7,050 train trips covering over 1.26 million kilometers.
Currently, the railway has expanded its daily train services from 14 to 52, accommodating over 31,000 passenger seats, a significant increase from the initial 8,400 seats. The peak daily ridership reached 21,537 passengers, with an impressive daily seat occupancy rate of 99.6%.
KCIC attributes its operational success to leveraging China’s extensive expertise in high-speed rail transportation, effectively managing operation and maintenance tasks, including navigating challenging weather conditions such as heavy rainfall and typhoons, ensuring passenger safety and uninterrupted service.
Moreover, to enhance passenger experience, dynamic fare policies have been implemented, operation schedules optimized, and station facilities upgraded.
This pioneering HSR project, the first of its kind in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, achieved the two-million-passenger mark in early March, according to official statistics.
Septian Hario Seto, Deputy Minister of Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, lauded the transformative impact of the railway on travel between Jakarta and Bandung, heralding a shift from individual vehicle reliance to mass transportation.
“I am confident that in the future, our mobility pattern will evolve from individual transport to a more mass transport-oriented approach,” Seto remarked.
With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the 142.3-km high-speed railway has significantly reduced travel time between Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and Bandung in West Java province from over three hours to a mere 40 minutes. – XINHUA
