Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway: The fastest train in Southeast Asia

The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is is a high-speed train service in Java, Indonesia. The train can travel at a speed of up to 350 km/h, making it the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia. The railway officially opened on the 2nd of October 2023.

The current railway between Jakarta and Bandung takes from 2h 50m to 3h 29m to cover the 168.5 km trip. The new railway covers 142.3 kk and has reduced the travel time to 40 minutes.

Construction notes

Japan had initially proposed a high-speed railway, with JICA having completed a study in 2012. After subsequent years of plans and studies, the government announced that it would go ahead with construction in 2015, with Japan and China competing for the contract. In September 2015 it was announced that the project was cancelled, and then the government announced in October 2015 that China had won the bidding.

The project officially began with a ceremony on 21 January 2016, only for work to stop shortly thereafter. The project began again later in the year, but it has been plagued with delays ever since. Slow land clearance and the pandemic have played a part in the delays.

In August 2016 it was announced that it would be finished by 2019. By February 2018 the completion date was moved to 2020, and by August 2018 the completion date was moved another year to 2021. In February 2020 – the calm before the pandemic storm – the estimated completion date was still set for 2021. The most recent estimate was announced in September 2020, with the completion date being moved to 2023.

Future Extensions

There are plans to extend the high-speed railway to Surabaya in East Java. This would go via the south to Yogyakarta.

Japan was offered the right to work on the extension, but they declined. Instead, Japan will work on the semi-high-speed railway from Jakarta to Surabaya. This route traverses the northern side of the island via Semarang, and not via Bandung. There was mention of including Kertajati International Airport being included on the high-speed extension, but it would make more sense for it to be included on the semi-high-speed railway.