The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway (HSR), the first of its kind in Indonesia, has been officially in operation as a train started off amid cheers and applause at Halim Station in the Indonesian capital on Monday morning.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the HSR's name "Whoosh," which means being fast, efficient and reliable, saying it marked the modernization of Indonesia's transportation mode.

The Indonesian Transportation Ministry issued an operating license on Sept. 29 to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture consortium between Indonesian and Chinese state-owned firms that constructs and runs the HSR.

The 142.3-km long high-speed line, connecting Indonesia's capital city Jakarta and the fourth largest city Bandung, is a flagship project that synergizes the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Indonesia's Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy.

It is also the first overseas construction project that fully uses Chinese railway systems, technology and industrial components.

In addition to greatly cutting the journey between the two cities from over three hours to around 40 minutes, Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told Xinhua in an interview that the Jakarta-Bandung HSR would greatly promote regional people-to-people exchanges and drive the development sectors including tourism, employment and education.

According to KCIC, from Oct. 3 to Oct. 16, eight sets of HSR trains will operate between Jakarta and Bandung every day, and free tickets are available online for the public. The ticket sale is scheduled to start on Oct. 17.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said free public test rides had been running for three weeks before the railway's official operation on Monday, and people's enthusiasm was clear as they directly experienced the benefit.

Ahmad and his family were among the passengers of the public test ride last Monday. "Very comfortable, stable, clean and looks luxurious. The train is also kid-friendly," said the man.

"I was really amazed by how fast I could arrive in Bandung. I didn't even have time to sleep because the trip is too short," he said.

Since the construction of the railway began in June 2018, builders from Indonesia and China have overcome various difficulties including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They not only adopted China's advanced HSR technology, but also made adaptations to Indonesia's complex geological conditions.

The outcomes include bridges with better shock absorption performance, smoother ballastless tracks, a more functional train control system, and advanced and safe trainsets.

Meanwhile, during the construction of the railway, a total of 45,000 Indonesian talents were trained with HSR technology, according to the statistics provided by KCIC.

Budi Karya Sumadi said that the professionalism and dedication shown by Chinese builders are worth learning, and Indonesia hopes to continue to cooperate closely with the Chinese side in the operation and maintenance of the high-speed railway. 

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