Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway launched.

[Jaime C]

Waze is showing 3 hours from Cikini to my house in Bandung. Pretty normal, with delays at the Bekasi toll gate.

 

[Bad_azz]

Some roadworks up nearer to Bandung JC. they created a short delay.

 

[Jaime C]

Took about 3 hours yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary, constructionwise. They do have the inner lane closed in a couple of places, but traffic wasn't bad.

 

[jstar]

The high speed line between Jakarta and Bandung is planned to be officially opened on August 18, a day after Independence Day, but that may be postponed until the end of this year. It could be that as of September test trips with volunteers take place and it will start commercial operations in January.

It is being built by a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese companies. The project has been delayed for four years and now costs $ 1.2 billion more than previously budgeted. The consortium's Chinese participants want a full operational worthiness certificate for the line despite an incomplete station. The Chinese are not happy at all with how the project went, it’s a bad advertisement for their BRI.

Obviously it should shorten the travel time of the 142 km between Jakarta and Bandung to 45 minutes. Now the train journey takes a minimum of 3 hours (but Eksekutif is not bad).

The question is if the line will be profitable. A transport analyst doubts whether the train will attract enough business travelers because the stations are located outside the centers of Jakarta and Bandung. According to an Indonesian official, it was too expensive to build stations in the center. In Jakarta it’s not that bad, close to Halim where there’s next to the airport also a LRT hub. But in Bandung it’s not ideal; if you live in Dago for instance, the car trip would take some 1,5 hour to the eastern and western stations both. That‘s not good.

 

[fastpitch17]

The high speed line between Jakarta and Bandung is planned to be officially opened on August 18, a day after Independence Day, but that may be postponed until the end of this year. It could be that as of September test trips with volunteers take place and it will start commercial operations in January.

It is being built by a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese companies. The project has been delayed for four years and now costs $ 1.2 billion more than previously budgeted. The consortium's Chinese participants want a full operational worthiness certificate for the line despite an incomplete station. The Chinese are not happy at all with how the project went, it’s a bad advertisement for their BRI.

Obviously it should shorten the travel time of the 142 km between Jakarta and Bandung to 45 minutes. Now the train journey takes a minimum of 3 hours (but Eksekutif is not bad).

The question is if the line will be profitable. A transport analyst doubts whether the train will attract enough business travelers because the stations are located outside the centers of Jakarta and Bandung. According to an Indonesian official, it was too expensive to build stations in the center. In Jakarta it’s not that bad, close to Halim where there’s next to the airport also a LRT hub. But in Bandung it’s not ideal; if you live in Dago for instance, the car trip would take some 1,5 hour to the eastern and western stations both. That‘s not good.


View attachment 3170

Nothing but problems and great cost and time overuns but, still favor china for more railways. Any other operation will see the same. One has to wonder who is coming out ahead on this crap partnering with china? I mean, besides china who have brought in thousands of workers that if laws were upheld would not be allowed and more Indonesians would have employment.

 

[Balifrog]

China has build 42.000 km of high speed rail in 20 years....

High-speed rail in China - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They don't need any foreign help for it.
They also had only 2 serious accident on the system. Compare that to the US low speed system accident rate

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/09/1161921856/there-are-about-3-u-s-train-derailments-per-day-they-arent-usually-major-disaste

Rail accidents in the U.S. 2021 | Statista

This statistic represents the number of rail accidents and incidents in the United States from 2013 through 2021.

www.statista.com

The station should be located in the city center to optimize the travel convenience, even it has a much higher cost.
It was a BIG debate in HKG when building the HKG high speed link to China. Finally it was build in the center of HKG island.

Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Japan's bullet train is running since several decades without any mortal accident.

 

[Samoerai]

china who have brought in thousands of workers that if laws were upheld would not be allowed

Are those workers staying in Indonesia, when the project is completed? Any report on that?

 

[fastpitch17]

Are those workers staying in Indonesia, when the project is completed? Any report on that?

Don't know. If a deal gets worked out for other china contracts I don't see why not.

 

[Pak Tani]

This reminds me of a documentary about the Chinese building a road in Congo. Rather, trying to build. It's hilarious. The culture clash, the bureaucracy, locals stealing fuel from trucks, the inability to source materials etc. Something what was supposed to be routine project turns into a frustrating experience, for both parties.

 

[jstar]

Are those workers staying in Indonesia, when the project is completed? Any report on that?

Many are deported from places as Tangerang every month.

Quite a lot of Chinese workers in the country, also for other infrastructure, high rises and new power stations / electricity plants. Almost half of all foreign workers is Chinese. (So more than 50K.)

 

[Samoerai]

Many are deported from places as Tangerang every month.

Quite a lot of Chinese workers in the country, also for other infrastructure, high rises and new power stations / electricity plants. Almost half of all foreign workers is Chinese. (So more than 50K.)

Yes, I saw those workers in the area of Cikupa working at a construction site for a new Wholesale mall. Can speak only Manderin.

 

[centurion]

China has build 42.000 km of high speed rail in 20 years....

High-speed rail in China - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

They don't need any foreign help for it.

They actually bought the technology for bullet trains from Siemens.

They often do like that-Chinese space program was developed with technology transfer from the Russian Soyuz program. If they cannot buy, they copy.

 

[Samoerai]

they copy

That's a nice word ..

 

[flavus]

They actually bought the technology for bullet trains from Siemens.

They often do like that-Chinese space program was developed with technology transfer from the Russian Soyuz program. If they cannot buy, they copy.

Indeed. To be fair, the US was like this too

Under the Patent Act of 1793, the United States barred foreign inventors from receiving patents at the same time as granting patents to Americans who had pirated technology from other countries. “America thus became, by national policy and legislative act, the world’s premier legal sanctuary for industrial pirates. Any American could bring a foreign innovation to the United States and commercialize the idea, all with total legal immunity.”

History of United States patent law - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Balifrog]

They often do like that-Chinese space program was developed with technology transfer from the Russian Soyuz program. If they cannot buy, they copy.

Same as everybody.
Japanese (60's) and Koreans (70, 80') starting with copying in the automobile industry, or work in JV with Western brands that gave them the rights to old models.
Concerning the Space program, the US was helped after WW2 by "volunteer" ex Nazi scientists.... Werner Von Braun rings a bell ?
Same in nuclear science.

 

[fastpitch17]

Indeed. To be fair, the US was like this too

History of United States patent law - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1793.
What, the wheel?

 

[Helpful Herbert]

Same as everybody.
Japanese (60's) and Koreans (70, 80') starting with copying in the automobile industry, or work in JV with Western brands that gave them the rights to old models.
Concerning the Space program, the US was helped after WW2 by "volunteer" ex Nazi scientists.... Werner Von Braun rings a bell ?
Same in nuclear science.

Same in pop music

 

[flavus]

1793.
What, the wheel?

Steam engines I think

 

[flavus]

Same as everybody.
Japanese (60's) and Koreans (70, 80') starting with copying in the automobile industry, or work in JV with Western brands that gave them the rights to old models.
Concerning the Space program, the US was helped after WW2 by "volunteer" ex Nazi scientists.... Werner Von Braun rings a bell ?
Same in nuclear science.

One thing though - there's a difference between reverse engineering, and forcing companies to "partner" with local companies to access the local market.

I try to avoid Chinese companies if I can help it for that reason

 

[centurion]

Same as everybody.
Japanese (60's) and Koreans (70, 80') starting with copying in the automobile industry, or work in JV with Western brands that gave them the rights to old models.
Concerning the Space program, the US was helped after WW2 by "volunteer" ex Nazi scientists.... Werner Von Braun rings a bell ?
Same in nuclear science.

It is not the same as everybody, most inventions and innovations are coming from the West. It does not mean it will change in the future.

Great human inventions by country

List of major inventions sorted by country and chronological order.

www.eupedia.com