Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday (Oct. 2) inaugurated the operation of a US$7.3 billion (S$10 billion) high-speed railway connecting the country's capital of Jakarta to Bandung, Kompas reported.
WHOOSH
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Whoosh
The 142-kilometre railway, named Whoosh, is largely backed by China under its Belt and Road initiative and is Southeast Asia's first-ever bullet train.
The railway was initially scheduled to open in 2019, but was postponed due to land disputes, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a US$1.2 billion (S$1.64 billion) budget overrun.
The name of the bullet train is "inspired by the sound of moving train passing at a high speed", said Jokowi.
Whoosh, short for "Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal", or "Timesaving, Optimal Operation, Reliable System", can reach a maximum speed of up to 350km per hour.
According to Jokowi, the train also uses environmentally-friendly technology and a system that is integrated with other modes of transportation.
The railway is expected to cut the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from three to five hours to only 45 minutes, Antara News reported.
Strain on Indonesia's public finances
Indonesian officials believe the high-speed railway will improve the country's economic productivity, BBC reported.
Bandung, the capital of West Java province, has been acclaimed as an innovative hub for creativity and entrepreneurship by UNESCO.
However, critics of the project said that the cost of the project may place strain on the country's public finances, already fatigued by the pandemic.
Jokowi, who is set to leave the office in October next year, following the Indonesian presidential election in February 2024, agreed to use state funds to assist the railway project to overcome delays.
He called the bullet train a "modernisation of our mass transportation that is environmentally friendly", as quoted by Reuters.
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