The numbers from Jakarta-Bandung are KCIC’s own, and they are strong. PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, the joint venture of Indonesian and Chinese state-owned firms that builds and runs the high-speed railway, said on Wednesday that 2.56 million passengers have ridden it in six months.
Service started around mid-October last year. In the time since, the line has logged 7,050 train trips and more than 1.26 million kilometers. Daily departures went from 14 to 52. Seats grew from 8,400 to more than 31,000.
Demand has tested that capacity. On its busiest day the railway sent out 21,537 passengers, and its fullest day saw 99.6 percent of seats occupied. Southeast Asia’s first high-speed line had counted 2 million riders in early March, according to official data.
What KCIC changed along the way
The operator says it ran the line on China’s long experience with high-speed trains, and that this kept service going through heavy rain and typhoons. It also introduced a dynamic fare policy, adjusted the timetable and improved station facilities. KCIC did not publish fare levels or revenue alongside the ridership figures.
Forty minutes instead of three hours
The 142.3-km line is designed for 350 km per hour. A journey from Jakarta to Bandung in West Java province once took more than three hours. Now it takes around 40 minutes.
Septian Hario Seto, deputy minister at Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, said the railway has moved travel between the cities from highway to rail. He expects the habit to spread. “I am confident that in the future, our mobility pattern will evolve from individual transport to a more mass transport-oriented approach,” he said.
Sources
- Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway marks 6-month operation with 2.56M passengers | english.scio.gov.cn
- Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway marks 6-month operation with 2.56 mln passengers
