TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is trying to build its own high-speed train which will begin to work next year. Based on the roadmap that has been made, the prototype of the train series that can go more than 200 kilometers per hour. In celebration of the anniversary of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) today, Monday, August 23, 2021, it is said that the fast train will be tested on the Makassar - Parepare line in South Sulawesi.

The construction of the Indonesian made fast train was first revealed in an online seminar entitled "Readiness of the Makassar - Parepare Railway" in Madiun, East Java, according to Director of the Center for Transportation Systems and Infrastructure Technology (BPPT) Mulyadi Sinung Harjono on August 22, 2021.

He said the fast train project is being implemented by a consortium in which BPPT was appointed as the coordinator, while PT INKA as the integrator. Models of high-speed trains from Japan, China, and Europe are all used as references. “Now it has led to the detailed engineering design to then be able to build a prototype. We hope that starting in the middle of next year, the work can start,” said Mulyadi.

He explained that local high-speed trains will be designed to have the ability to travel at speeds of 220-230 kilometers per hour. Compare this with the speed of the electric rail train or KRL Jabodetabek, which is 80-100 kilometers per hour—because it is designed according to operational needs with relatively close distances between stations. Or, the train outside the city that is designed to speed 120 kilometers per hour.

The fast train that is being designed is also superior compared to the current fastest train owned by PT INKA which has a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour. According to Mulyadi, INKA uses a multiple unit diesel propulsion system to achieve that speed: the diesel engine will drive the generator and the generator will drive the wheel motor. "This method can provide higher speeds than ordinary diesel trains," he said.

The prototype of the national high-speed train that is being designed, Mulyadi said, could develop the same propulsion system with a number of improvements. Can also later hybrid with electricity. "This is being calculated, and by the end of the year, hopefully the details and the form of the plan will have been obtained."

What is clear, Mulyadi added, is that the fast train will use wider rail specifications, which are more standard in the world than the rails used by PT INKA in the country. Wider rails are said to support the stability of the train when moving fast on it. "The technical limit is still able to bend 1.8 or 2.0 km," he explained.

Mulyadi added that a number of universities were involved in the design of this high-speed train. They include the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) which helps calculate the bogie or wheel construction and the basic frame of the train body. For the record, BPPT has designed a bogie which is now used for KRL, LRT light rail, and currently used in Makassar - Parepare.

According to Mulyadi, "Now we are calculating the bogie design for trains with speeds of more than 200 km/hour."

Several other Universities such as the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Surabaya (ITS) help for train interiors and Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta (UNS) for manufacturing or welding processes. "Almost all universities participate," said Mulyadi.

It is also planned, Mulyadi added, that the aerodynamic design test will be carried out domestically using BPPT's wind tunnel facility. As for the fast track trial, facilities owned by INKA or owned by the Ministry of Transportation are available. "Apart from Parepare, we only need a track length of 10 kilometers for the test later," said Mulyadi.

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ZACHARIAS WURAGIL | MAUDEY K. SETYAKUSUMA