Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train

[caption caption="http://jakarta.coconuts.co/2016/01/21/president-jokowi-and-governor-ahok-attending-groundbreaking-jakarta-bandung-fast-train"][/caption]Everyone in the country knows how bad traffic can get in Indonesia during the long holidays, but is building a brand new high-speed train and its route the right decision? Here I tackle the many problems that come with it. Ever since I was small trains have fascinated me and I am all for the idea of having a high speed train in Indonesia. However as much as I want this to happen, I have a feeling that our country is not ready for this advancement with the biggest reason being cost.

Building New Dedicated Rails

High speed trains have their own dedicated track and so Indonesia must build another rail route that will cut through rice fields, hills and many residential homes. We will call them HSR for High speed rail. The biggest difference HSR has from normal rail is that it’s continuously welded. Normally tracks are segmented and are then nailed together. The clicking sound we hear is the train passing through the joints of the track. This is a speed limiting factor due to friction and energy produced by the train is being converted into waste; ‘clicking’ sound and heat. Continuously welded tracks offers a smoother ride as well as reduces the risk of accidents due to faulty joints.

[caption caption="http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/01/22/056738567/Walhi-Protests-Jakarta-Bandung-High-Speed-Train-Project"]

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Another reason why the new Bullet train can’t run on normal Indonesian rail is because of Indonesia’s geography. Past the cities and flat lands Indonesia’s valleys and hills prove to be an obstacle for fast trains. High speed trains must slow down when coming across sharp turns. This will waste energy as the train will need to throttle back to full speed after the turn. Going through many turns and curves and time will also be wasted. Naturally it wouldn’t be called a ‘high speed train’ anymore. HSR has banking to improve the speed and less braking is needed into turns. Like a motorcycle or airplane when turning this helps cancel the lateral forces and offers the passengers a comfortable ride. If there are too many curves however, a tunnel would be a better option to maintain full speed and get to Bandung faster. This of course adds to the already insane budget costs.

The Choice between Electric and Diesel

Our countries current trains use a single locomotive to pull the passenger cars from the front. Modern foreign trains like ICE, TGV and Shinkansen use either EMU or DMU.

E = Electric

D = Diesel

MU = Multiple Unit, meaning the engines are distributed among each passenger car. Rather than have a single unit to pull the whole train, each unit pushes itself. This works to improve energy efficiency in contrast to our current locomotive trains. Also, if a single engine fails in the middle of nowhere that train could still run albeit slower. Our local Jakarta trains use EMU.

Electric trains are the cleaner option but will increase costs because the whole line will be supplied with electricity plus maintenance costs. While electric energy can come from many clean sources (solar, geo, wind) diesel either uses either fossil fuel or biofuels. While biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuels they both produce pollution and contribute to global warming. Though, the pollution from diesel trains can be slightly ignored due to the fact that the people riding this train will opt out of using personal cars which produce even more air pollution.

Is such a train worth the cost? A small reminder, this train will only be for Jakarta to Bandung and will not contribute anything to reducing traffic all the way to Surabaya. It’s a great start nevertheless, if our country doesn’t go bankrupt because of it. A high speed train will help us compete with other developing nations and will offer interesting business prospects concerning our country.