One Year Anniversary of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail: How Can Chinese High-Speed Rail Break Through Internationally? | Overseas Investment (AI Translation)
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文｜财新 杨敏 邹晓桐
By Caixin's Yang Min and Zou Xiaotong
【财新网】“恭喜印尼朋友，你们拥有一条很棒的高铁！”油管博主Travel Lord on Location在9月3日发布的一条测评印尼雅万高铁Whoosh的视频中这样说道。此前，印尼明星Raffi Ahmad晒出与家人乘坐雅万高铁的照片，获得了82万人点赞。
[Caixin Online] "Congratulations to our Indonesian friends, you have a fantastic high-speed rail!" This was the sentiment expressed by YouTube blogger Travel Lord on Location in a video review of Indonesia’s Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail, Whoosh, published on September 3. Prior to this, Indonesian celebrity Raffi Ahmad shared photos of his family riding the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail, garnering 820,000 likes.
雅万高铁自去年10月17日正式开通以来，引来了印尼当地人及游客在社交媒体上“花式打卡”，分享自己乘坐高铁的体验。即使简单拍摄“呼啸效应”（whoosh effect）的视频也能获得几十万的流量。
Since the official launch of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway on October 17 last year, it has attracted both local Indonesians and tourists to share their experiences on social media in creative ways. Even simple videos capturing the "whoosh effect" have garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
印尼人将雅万高铁的子弹头列车称为“Whoosh”，灵感来自高铁飞驰时的呼啸声，是印尼语“节省时间（Waktu Hemat）”、“最佳操作（Operasi Optimal）”、“卓越系统（Sistem Hebat）”三个词的首字母缩写。印尼资深媒体人Uni Zulfiani Lubis就曾兴奋地向财新记者展示倒立的水瓶稳稳立在高铁的窗台上的视频，用以体现高铁运行时的稳定性。
Indonesians refer to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail's bullet train as "Whoosh," inspired by the whistling sound as the train speeds along. It is an acronym in Indonesian for "Saving Time (Waktu Hemat)," "Optimal Operation (Operasi Optimal)," and "Excellent System (Sistem Hebat)." Uni Zulfiani Lubis, a seasoned Indonesian journalist, once enthusiastically showed a Caixin reporter a video of an inverted water bottle standing steadily on the window ledge of the high-speed train, demonstrating the train's stability during operation.
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- The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail "Whoosh" reduces travel time from 3.5 hours to 40 minutes over 142 km, launched in October 2023, and has served over five million passengers.
- Despite boosting the local economy, the railway faces financial challenges, with a significant operating deficit and high construction and operational costs.
- China's high-speed rail projects in Southeast Asia, including Whoosh, are strategic for the Belt and Road Initiative, though challenges like high debts and geopolitical competition persist.
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, known as "Whoosh" in Indonesia, signifies a major advancement in Southeast Asia's transportation landscape. Celebrated for its speed and reduced travel time, this high-speed rail significantly enhances connectivity between Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, and Bandung, cutting travel time from 3.5 hours to just 40 minutes. Commencing operations in October 2023, the railway has served over five million passengers by the end of September 2024, underscoring its role in boosting local and tourist travel [para. 1][para. 3][para. 5].
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is pivotal in several ways. For China, it showcases the successful implementation of its high-speed rail technology abroad, aligning with ambitions under the Belt and Road Initiative. This project has allowed China to gain valuable insights into the Indonesian market's technical and cultural landscape, providing a blueprint for future overseas railway projects [para. 8][para. 9]. For Indonesia, the railway exemplifies a surge in infrastructure development, primarily addressing urban congestion and stimulating economic growth by connecting key urban areas more effectively [para. 4][para. 5][para. 10].
However, operational challenges and financial burdens loom large over the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project. The railway faces high operational costs and construction expenses, estimated at $7.3 billion, which have resulted in significant financial setbacks for the Indonesian state-owned enterprises involved. In its first year, the railway incurred a substantial operating deficit, exacerbated by the high ticket prices that limit accessibility for ordinary Indonesians. Despite efforts to alleviate these pressures through dynamic pricing and increased trips, the railway's financial sustainability remains uncertain [para. 23][para. 25][para. 33].
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) extends beyond Indonesia, with high-speed railway projects spreading across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. The China-Laos Railway and ongoing cooperation with countries like Thailand and Vietnam for similar infrastructure projects exemplify China's expanding influence through railway technology. These projects typically follow a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, where China not only provides the technology but also the necessary financial investments, thus driving development across these regions while embedding Chinese standards into local infrastructures [para. 45][para. 48][para. 55].
Geopolitical tensions significantly impact China's high-speed rail expansion efforts. As global infrastructure investment competition intensifies, driven by initiatives like the Group of Seven's "Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment," countries in Southeast Asia are torn between opportunities offered by China and the need to maintain balanced relationships with Western powers. As seen in projects like the China-Thailand Railway, geopolitical dynamics and changes in domestic political landscapes can lead to project delays or shifts in financing models [para. 60][para. 61][para. 70].
The China's railway export strategy faces multiple challenges as it adapts from project financing to technical standard exports, ensuring adaptability to local economic and political climates. While financing offers a crucial advantage, it also poses risks by burdening nations with long-term debt obligations, as highlighted in Indonesia's shift from a commercial to a government-backed financing model. Yet, these projects continue to represent significant prospects under the BRI, with estimates suggesting a potential market value of 5 trillion yuan for China's high-speed rail projects along BRI routes [para. 89][para. 94][para. 100].
Overall, China's foray into global high-speed rail markets is marked by its technological prowess and strategic investment capabilities, although financial and geopolitical complexities pose ongoing challenges. The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway stands as a testament to this duality, offering a model of modern transportation that navigates both infrastructural opportunity and economic caution [para. 105][para. 110].
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