Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway Photo: Courtesy of PowerChina

Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, a signature project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, has announced completion of the entire track-laying process, with full line operation set to start soon. 

The project adopts Chinese standard high-speed rails, with a total usage of about 38,100 tons of rails, according to the Power Construction Corp of China (PowerChina), the developer responsible for the track laying task.  

It is also the first time that China has exported 50-meter rails in large quantities to an overseas market.

The pace of construction along the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway has been accelerating. Welding of a total of 1,168 pieces of 500-meter-long steel rails needed for the 142.3-kilometer rail line was completed in January, laying solid foundations for the completion of the track-laying.

PowerChina had to overcome unfavorable conditions and construction difficulties such as high temperatures and heavy rainfall, as well as a tight construction schedule, it said.

Throughout the construction process, Chinese employees of PowerChina passed on technical instructions to local Indonesian employees, giving them technical knowledge in areas such as rail welding and track laying.

The rail project connects Indonesia's capital city Jakarta and Bandung, its fourth-largest city. With a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the railway will cut the journey time between the two cities from more than three hours to around 40 minutes.

The rail link is expected to enter commercial operation in June 2023, boosting Indonesia's economic and social development.

It also serves as an example of the deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Indonesia.