Experts Worried Over Hi-Tech Rail Project’s Viability

Jakarta Globe, Putri Prameshwari

Is the proposed $3 billion high-speed 357-kilometer railway connecting Indonesia's capital Jakarta to West Java just a pipe dream?

A number of transportation experts seem to think so, arguing that the project faces a multitude of obstacles.

The plan, announced by the Ministry of Transportation on Jan. 7, was initiated by a consortium of 15 companies headed by San Francisco-based CAEDZ Eco Synesis Group. The group signed an agreement earlier this month with the ministry for a 90-day feasibility study, with an eye to beginning construction this year.

But according to Taufik Hidayat, executive director of Indonesia Railway Watch, Indonesia must be careful in experimenting with new technology.

“We cannot let this be an experiment that will fail when it is implemented,” he said, adding that no prototype of this high-speed train had been built yet.

The planned Hydrogen Hi-Speed Rail Super Highway (H2RSH) is more than just a maglev — a system in which the train is suspended above the tracks by means of magnetic levitation. Instead, it would float above tracks through which electricity, water, fiber-optics and gas would flow.

Solar panels inlaid in the track would provide the energy to propel the trains and convert water to hydrogen to be stored for future use as fuel. The line would form the backbone of the government’s $500 billion West Java Economic Corridor, which would also include the construction of a new international airport and seaport.

Assuming the technology is indeed feasible, Taufik said the next problem would be the topography. He said the winding 357-kilometer route planned from Jakarta to Bandung and Cirebon would not be suitable for a high-speed train.

“There are also mountains and steep valleys to think about,” he said.

If the study, which begins this month, does prove the project feasible, Taufik said it would then have to surmount the major hurdle of land acquisition.

“Land acquisition is one issue to begin with,” he said, adding that since the project would be handled by a private consortium, there should be a different set of rules for land acquisition.

And should the project get off the ground, experts say the two-year timetable is too optimistic.

Danang Parikesit, secretary general of the Indonesian Transportation Society, said that even if carried out at an accelerated pace, the construction would take at least five to ten years to finish. He added that the project should be tendered and that the government must not just hand it over to the consortium.

The project proposal does have some merit, however, and not all experts are pessimistic.

If approved, it would be the country’s first railway construction project to involve the private sector, and could end state-owned PT Kereta Api’s monopoly of the railway sector.

Djoko Setijowarno, a railway expert from Soegijapranata University, said it was good to see the private sector entering the railway business because it would bring competition to the industry and improve public services.

The new railway would also cost less to build — $10 million per mile — than a conventional system, which costs $36 million per mile, Tundjung Inderawan, director general of railways at the Transportation Ministry, has been quoted as saying.

And as it wouldn’t rely on conventional power sources such as diesel or electricity. Being powered by hydrogen fuel cells that emit water rather than pollution, it would also be environment-friendly.

In addition, CAEDZ claims that the project could create between three million and five million jobs in Jakarta alone.

According to Danang, though, the government’s main concern in evaluating the project should be its impact on the people.

“It must prioritize public interest no matter what,” he said.

With additional reporting from Asia Sentinel