SEAQIS team with several students from SMAIT Darul Quran, SMA Darul Hikam, and SMA Darul Ulum 2 Unggulan were invited by Children & Youth Science Center of CAST (China) to join a study visit to Tegal Luar Station of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (Office Camp) on 30 November 2022. This railway is a landmark cooperation project that implements the “Belt and Road” initiative of China and the “Global Maritime Fulcrum” strategy of Indonesia. The railway started to be built officially in June 2018, and it is planned to be completed and put into operation by the end of June 2023.
There are four stops to be visited at the Office Camp: project station, the project site of Tegal Luar Station platform, multimedia exhibition hall, and Joint Workshop of EMU train. In the project station, participants were guided to stroll around the office area which also had several temporary residences, a garden, a fishpond, and a moon gate as one of the Chinese traditional architectural elements. After that, they visited Tegal Luar Station and the multimedia exhibition hall next to the station which presented interactive information about KCIC (Kereta Cepat Indonesia Cina). Next, they could see and took some pictures outside the EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) trains at the Joint Workshop, a place where the trains will start and stop operating every day.
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project is the first high-speed trains in Southeast Asia and can improve transportation performance significantly because the three-hours usual duration will be reduced to about 40 minutes only with a speed of 350km/hour. It is also a great chance to develop the regional and national economic and reduce the environmental pollution. Hopefully, we can start enjoying this sophisticated technology in the middle of 2023.
