Workers conduct electricity inspection in a trial section of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, in Bandung, Indonesia, Nov. 5, 2022. A trial section of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia has been ready for operating the EMU (Electric Multiple Units) trains after its traction substation and other equipment have been installed and commissioned on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

A trial section of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) in Indonesia, a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched a key test on the catenary to test electricity supply to the locomotive on Wednesday, as the project is nearing actual operation, China Media Group reported.

The catenary test was carried out by the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed train, which arrived in Indonesia on September 1, making its debut on the high-speed line.

The functions of the power supply system in the test section have been comprehensively evaluated, and the performance of relevant indicators and parameters was good and fully met design requirements, creating conditions for subsequent tests, said China Railway International Group.

The success of the test marks a key step toward the project’s operation, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

He noted that the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is a landmark project promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Indonesia, which is also a vivid illustration of China's efforts to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with its neighbors under the principle of extensive consultation, joint construction and shared benefits.
The high-speed line, which connects Indonesia's capital Jakarta and its fourth-largest city Bandung, is a landmark project under the BRI and an example of the practical cooperation between China and Indonesia. 

With a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over 3 hours to around 40 minutes. It is expected to be put into operation in June 2023, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The project is expected to greatly improve local traffic conditions, Indonesia's economic and social development, practical bilateral cooperation and the high-quality development of the BRI.

China's trade with the countries and regions along the BRI jumped 20.9 percent year-on-year in the first ten months of 2022, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Monday. Trade with Indonesia went up by an impressive 28.2 percent.

Global Times