Rapid Train from Jakarta

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High-speed Train from Jakarta, Really Fast

Ride on the Indonesian bullet train on November 9, 2023


A Struggle at Halim Station 


Indonesia started the operation of the first bullet train in Southeast Asia on October 17, 2023. The high-speed train named Whoosh runs faster than the Japanese Shinkansen train.On hearing that, I decided to get on the train as soon as possible. And today is the day.


My original plan was to take a return trip from Jakarta to Bandung. But I found it impossible because the station name is different from those city names. Halim is the name of the station for Whoosh in Jakarta, which I can find easily. This morning, I got to Halim by taking a Grab car from my hotel, in center-western area of Jakarta.


 Ticket vending machines are at the center of the ground floor of the station. I tried the machine but in vain. It only accepts Indonesian QR code payment. So I went to the service window which had a long waiting queue including some agents to buy someone’s tickets. After one hour from arriving at the station, I managed to buy the ticket to Padalaram Station, western part in Bundong city.


It was the first class sheet that I bought. Cheaper sheets were sold out before me.  The one-way price was 600,000 rupiahs.

Indonesian high-speed train named Whoosh

Whoosh is ready to start



Can Feel Its High-speed

The first class sheet is at both ends of trains, and I sat at the top car of Whoosh. Just after it started at noon from Jakarta, a train attendant lady gave us a pack of snacks.  


An American, I thought from his accent, asked the attendant if he could use WIFI in the car, but the answer was no.  He jokingly said, “It is a breakthrough. There is no WIFI in the first class.”


Personal space was just enough in the first class sheets. Everybody relaxed and enjoyed taking a selfie or shooting a movie focused on outside scenery by their phones.   


You could feel its high speed and saw the figure on the electrical board on the top of the door. The speed meter said it was beyond 140 kph at its fastest. Unfortunately, though the speed was much faster than the Japanese Shinkansen, I could not exactly feel the difference in speed.

Speed meter says 144 kph in an Indonesian high-speed train

Really?



Waiting at Padaklaram Station

At 30 minutes past noon, the train stopped at Padaklaram Station. It was a brand-new largescale station constructed for Whoosh as Halim Station. It connected with local train lines there. 


But the town surrounding the station was not well developed yet. There are no western style cafes as far as I can see from the station. It was such a hot sunny day that nobody liked strolling around the Indonesian traditional small shops near the station. I had no other choice but to wait for the return train inside the station. 


All in all, I enjoyed Whoosh but not the station town in Indonesia. I hope I will see the development in local towns near the bullet train stations next time.






Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

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