Indonesia's Whoosh high-speed train marks two years of operation

Jakarta: For Zaky Najwan, an Indonesian civil servant who occasionally travels to Bandung, a city about 150 km away from Jakarta, work trips often dem...

Jakarta: For Zaky Najwan, an Indonesian civil servant who occasionally travels to Bandung, a city about 150 km away from Jakarta, work trips often demand tight schedules and swift movement.

Whenever he needs to travel quickly, the first thing that comes to mind is the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway. Known locally as Whoosh, the crimson-and-silver train links the two cities at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour.

"Taking Whoosh has become the best option whenever I need to make a quick trip to Bandung," he said.

Since commencing official operations on Oct. 17, 2023, Whoosh has reduced the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from more than three hours to 46 minutes. It is Indonesia's first high-speed train and the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Over the past two years, the 142.3-km Whoosh has operated 36,747 train services, maintaining an on-time rate of over 95 percent.