Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail Project May Be Postponed After Train Derails

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry stated that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project might be temporarily stopped for investigation purposes following the recent derailed incident of a work train on Sunday afternoon, December 18, 2022, at the Cipada-Cikalongwetan area of West Bandung Regency.

"For investigation, [the project activity] may be suspended temporarily. Hopefully, this will not affect the work timeline," said The Director of Traffic and Rail Transport (DJKA) of the Transportation Ministry, M. Risal Wasal, to Tempo on Monday, December 19, 2022.

Risal ensured that officers of the Railways Directorate General were already at the location to further identify the cause of the train derailment, He added that the incident has been handled.

The workers who became victims of the accident have also been evacuated. Risal also emphasized that the train which was derailed was not part of the high-speed train but rather a construction train for the ballast installment.

Previously, two videos circulating on social media suggested that the incident of the trail derailment allegedly involved the Indonesia-China high-speed train project. One of the videos showed a train car leaving the track of the high-speed rail project. The other 12-second video informed that the train's brakes failed.

When asked for confirmation, the Corporate Secretary of the consortium responsible for the project, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia Cina (KCIC) Rahadian Ratry, stated that a team has been deployed to launch an investigation. However, Ratry did not provide further detail on the cause and the exact time and place where the train derailment occurred. 

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI | CAESAR AKBAR

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