Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train to begin operations in early October

Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the trial of the new Bandung-Jakarta high-speed train in Jakarta on Sept 13, 2023. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Indonesia’s first high-speed train linking capital Jakarta and the country’s fourth most populous city Bandung will begin operations in early October, with the aim of reducing huge economic losses caused by severe traffic jams in both cities, among other issues.

“We hope people (will) shift from using private cars to using high speed rail, MRT, LRT... so traffic jams, pollution can be reduced. Economic losses due to jams in greater Jakarta and Bandung have reached over 100 trillion rupiah (S$8.85 billion) annually,” said President Joko Widodo after travelling on the high speed rail (HSR) on Wednesday (Sept 13).