JAKARTA - The West Java administration has unveiled a plan to construct a new railway line to provide faster and integrated connectivity between Jakarta and Bandung, an initiative experts warn may cut into the market for the Whoosh high-speed rail (HSR) service connecting the same two cities.

The plan is part of

a broader collaboration agreement

between the provincial authorities and state-owned railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), firmed up through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on Nov 25, which lays the foundation for massive railway infrastructure development in the region.

“Kilat Pajajaran will cut travel time, making it quite fast; from Gambir [Station] to Bandung will only take one-and-a-half hours,” West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said, as quoted in a press release.

According to the West Java Regional Revenue Agency’s (Bapenda) website, the project is estimated to require 8 trillion rupiah (S$621.6 million) in investment from the local administration, with 2 trillion rupiah to be disbursed annually over the envisioned four-year construction period from 2027 to 2030.

KAI president director Bobby Rasyidin said the project study would begin in early 2026.

The Kilat Pajajaran is expected to further connect Bandung to wider areas in the eastern part of West Java, including Banjar, Garut and Tasikmalaya, with a total travel time of three hours from Jakarta to Banjar.

Governor Dedi demanded that cities and regencies invest in the project’s development.

“Regencies that don’t invest in building the Kilat Pajajaran train line will not have the train stop there. It will pass through. Stopping in Bandung is enough,” he said.

Mr Djoko Setijowarno, a transportation expert from the Indonesian Transportation Socie...