TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arya Sinulingga, a special staffer for SOE Minister Erick Thohir, confirmed that the construction project of the Jakarta - Bandung high-speed railway (KCJB) is still ongoing. Arya believed that once operational, the train developed by PT Kereta Api Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium of Indonesian SOE and China, will be in great demand.

Arya compared the KCJB to the Panoramic Train, which is attached to Argo Parahyangan train serving Jakarta - Bandung route. Although the ticket is priced at Rp350,000, many people expressed their interest and decided to ride it.

"[The panoramic train] is in high demand. So those who aren't confident about the ticket price of the fast train and said it is too expensive and so on, look at the panoramic train whose ticket price of Rp350,000. [Many] buy them," said Arya at the SOE Ministry Building on Friday, February 3, 2023.

The Panoramic Train trip, Arya went on, would take three hours. Meanwhile, KCJB could be faster and the price is below the panoramic train’s fare.

According to him, a ticket for the fast train’s shortest distance would likely be set at Rp125,000, while the longest distance at between Rp250,000-Rp350,000. However, Arya claimed the fare is still being discussed.

The high-speed railway is one of the projects assigned by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to SOE Minister Erick Thohir. “Pak Jokowi appointed Pak Erick as a minister to finish the high-speed train project. It's in progress, simultaneously with the LRT project,” Arya explained.

President Jokowi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had witnessed the trial run of the Jakarta - Bandung high-speed railway virtually on the sidelines of the Indonesia-China Bilateral Meeting after the G20 Summit in Bali at the end of last year.

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI

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