THE Indonesian capital Jakarta is now connected with the city of Bandung by a 142.3km (88 miles) long 350km/h (217mph) high-speed line which was opened by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on October 2.
Branded as Whoosh, services on the new line, the first of its kind to open in the southern hemisphere, will be operated by a fleet of 12 new 350km/h EMUs built in China by CRRC. A joint venture of Indonesian and Chinese state-owned companies called PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) operates the trains.
The eight-car CR400AF Yawan high-speed EMUs have seats for 600 passengers. The new line, which is electrified at 27.5kV AC, serves a combined population of more than 45 million people (the Jakarta conurbation has 34 million people and Bandung around 11 million). KCIC is planning to operate 34 train
