WHOOSH, a much welcomed addition to the travel experience. Photo Credit: KCIC
With the opening of Indonesia’s first bullet train service connecting
Jakarta and Bandung in West Java, the business events industry sees
high hopes for improving accessibility between the cities. WHOOSH, the
name of the high-speed train, runs on electricity with zero direct
carbon emissions and reduces the travel time between the cities from
three hours to just 40 minutes.
The commercial operation of WHOOSH, an acronym for “Waktu Hemat,
Operasi Optimal, Sistem Hebat," meaning "time saving, optimal operation,
great system" in Indonesian, was officially launched on 17 October 2023
with a total of 25 trips per day - from Halim station in Jakarta, and
from Tegalluar station in West Bandung.
PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), operator of Indonesia’s
bullet train, increased the trips from 14 to 25 trips starting from 25
October 2023 until 31 October 2023. GM of KCIC Corporate Secretary, Eva
Chairunisa, said the decision was made based on high demand. WHOOSH has
served some 58,000 passengers since 17 October. The daily average is
around 7,200 passengers, with an occupancy rate of about 90% per trip.
Feeder train services will also be added.
The tourism industry warmly welcomed this new option of public
transportation. “When we talk about tourism sector, we always talk
about accessibility. If there are more transportation options, it will
be an incredible potential for tourists to move around,” said Maulana
Yusran, secretary general Indonesia Hotel and Travel Association (PHRI).
Passengers who want to go to the central city of Bandung have to take
a feeder train from the Padalarang station. It takes about a further 20
minutes, with an estimated cost of 50,000 rupiah (US$3.20). The easier
option for business travellers is to use a car pickup service, said
Johnny Judianto, president director of Best Tour.
For groups, Pauline Suharno, head of Indonesia Travel Agents
Association said that the need to change modes of transportation would
incur additional costs. “You have to rent a bus in Jakarta and another
one in Bandung,” she said.
A hotel operator in Bandung, the Indonesia’s fourth largest city,
also expressed a similar tone as WHOOSH bullet train stations are quite a
distance from the city.
Yuke Yulianti Andani, spokesperson for Savoy Homan Hotel, one of the
most well-known hotels in Bandung, said the hotel is watching to see how
hotel guests will respond to the bullet train service.
“If it is starting to be like, oh, there are actually a lot of people
interested in taking this high-speed train, then we will create access.
We will make it easier for them [to come to the city] by providing a
pick-up service from the hotel or shuttle bus from travel operator,”
Yuke added.
A premium economy class ticket is now going at a promotional fare of
150,000 rupiah (US$9.40) until the end-November 2023. Tourism operators
are watching to see if the current high demand is sustainable or whether
it will drop once the promotional rates are removed and those who have
gone for the experience no longer comprise the regular crowd.
A first class ticket costs 600,000 rupiah (S$37.70) and will be
suitable for CEOs or high-level government officials where accessibility
and saving time are important, they say.