Indonesia's High-Speed Rail Project Suspended After Deadly Accident

Liputan6.com, Bandung - A deadly accident killed two Chinese workers who worked for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail (KCJB) This accident involved a technical train and a high-speed train locomotive in Cempaka Village, West Bandung Regency, West Java, on Sunday (12/18/2022) at around 4 p.m.

The high-speed rail project is one of the flagship cooperations between Indonesia and China. President Xi Jinping also monitored the program, virtually, when he visited Indonesia for G20 Summit. The project has faced criticism and controversy, mainly due to the funding. 

This recent accident gained a lot of attention on social media after a video of the accident goes viral.

Initially, the high-speed train locomotive moved quickly from Padalarang to Jakarta before it hit a technical train that was outside the train tracks.

As a result, the project which is co-funded by Chinese investment to be temporarily suspended to allow a full investigation into the case, said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Transportation Adita Irawati in a statement.

"Following the applied regulation, the construction activities will be temporarily suspended for further investigation. After the identification and investigation are complete, the findings and recommendations will be reported to be used as a reference to improve safety aspects of railway construction projects," Adita said.

The Head of the Public Relations Division of Indonesian Police Dedi Prasetyo said that the teams from Forensic Laboratory, Police Headquarters, and West Java Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) already visited to the scene where the accident took place.

According to Dedi, the police along with the ministry and related parties were looking into the cause of the accident.

The Inafis team has identified victims of train accidents, both the dead and injured. Dedi said that two people died in the accident were Chinese workers, and there were five people who got injured.

Regarding this accident, the investigators from West Java Regional Police conducted an investigation and collected information from the witnesses at the scene.

"(The total number of) witnesses who have been questioned by the West Java Regional Police investigators, based the information that I got last night, was approximately 18 people," he said.

The police checked everything that became the crossing path, collision point, and the train used for the trial. "We'll check everything," Dadi said, adding that everything takes time.

Dedi also said that attempts to find out the cause of the deadly high-speed rail accident are still in progress, not only from the police but also experts from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), including from PT KAI.

"If needed, we will involve outside parties as the supplier of the train. So, the results that will be conveyed to the media are comprehensive," he said.

Writer: Adelina Wahyu Martanti.

Arief Rahman Hakim contributed to this report.