STORY: Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway transports 5.79 mln passengers in first year
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Oct. 17, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:37
LOCATION: Jakarta
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Indonesian): ERNA, Local passenger
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Indonesian): DODI AHMAD SOFIANDI, Head of West Java Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association

STORYLINE:

The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), celebrating its first anniversary on Thursday, has transported 5.79 million passengers, according to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture between Indonesian and Chinese enterprises that built and operates the railway. 

According to KCIC statistics, since its commercial launch in October 2023, the HSR has completed over 15,826 train trips, covering more than 2.57 million kilometers. The number of daily train services has increased from 14 at the start of operations to 52, with passenger seats rising from 8,400 to over 31,000. The highest daily ridership reached 24,132.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Indonesian): ERNA, Local passenger
"I can use Whoosh (Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway) more than twice in a week. It is quite frequent. If I am assigned to go to Jakarta, I prefer to use Whoosh. First, I am not tired. It is also comfortable, cool, and on time. That is the most important. The employees are also friendly. They can answer the questions. And their smiles make me happy to ride Whoosh."

The HSR is fully powered by electricity, significantly reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The KCIC said that the green energy initiative saves Indonesia around 3.2 trillion rupiahs (208 million U.S. dollars) annually in fuel costs.

In addition, Indonesian government data indicated that between 2019 and 2023, the project contributed 86.5 trillion rupiahs (about 5.62 billion dollars) to the GDP of Jakarta and West Java.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Indonesian): DODI AHMAD SOFIANDI, Head of West Java Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association
"Based on the available data, after one year, workers who have sufficient income, have been enjoying HSR. 
Culinary, cafes in the city of Bandung have increased, previously the number was 2,000, now based on the available data, there are approximately 3,600. 
There is an increase in occupancy of up to 15 percent, if it is a holiday. If it is a weekday, the number is normal. If it is a holiday, there is an increase of up to 15 percent." 

With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the 142.3-km high-speed railway has cut travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to just 46 minutes.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Jakarta.
(XHTV)