Indonesia has been building its first 142 km long high-speed railway line since 2015. After preferring the Chinese to the Japanese bid on the railway, the first stone was laid at the beginning of 2016. The railway line will pass 13 tunnels, and over 80 km of it will be on elevated structures.
Seven years after the start of construction, the project proceeded to a phase of testing the rolling stock that would serve the line. On 18 May 2023, KCIC officially started the first trial. The testing train departed from Halim in Jakarta and made stops in Karawang and Walini before arriving in Bandung’s Tegalluar.
The rolling stock used is the KCIC400AF units made by CRRC Qingdai Sifang. They are based on the CF400AF high-speed trains operated in China. They reach a maximum speed of 350 km/h and are adapted to the climatic conditions of Java Island. Overall, 11 high-speed trainsets and one inspection trainset will be delivered.
KCIC planned to start operating on 18 August 2023, on the 78th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence. The latest announcements mention an earlier deadline, with operation launch in June already. Once running, it will shorten travel time between notoriously congested are between the two biggest Indonesian cities, Jakarta and Bandung, from three hours to 40 minutes.
