Wishing on the High-Speed Rail

It should be acknowledged that the development of the world of railways in Indonesia cannot be separated from the touch of Dutch colonialism. Since 1.5 centuries ago, the development of rail transportation modes began. The intention of the Dutch to build a railroad network was none other than to connect areas that had large plantations. Thus, commodities such as sugar, tea, and coffee can be easily and quickly distributed (Ningsih, 26/08/2021).

Now, the construction of trains is no longer about commodities, but a matter of population. Since the time of the Dutch occupation, human mobility using the railroad has been a concern. In 1925, the Netherlands initiated the electric railroad line that we know today as the KRL Commuter Line. Even though during its development the KRL was temporarily closed, currently the KRL has become one of the leading modes of transportation for the community, especially for people who live in buffer zones.

The statistics for Jabodetabek KRL users, for example, have shown an increase in passengers every year, except during the COVID-19 pandemic, which decreased due to restrictions on community mobilization.

Graph 1. Jabodetabek KRL Passengers (People)

Source: Processed from PT KAI Commuter, Databoks, Dataindonesia

The data above shows that apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, Jabodetabek KRL passengers have experienced a drastic increase, which is more than 100 percent when viewed from 2011 to 2019. If you look at this data, it can be interpreted that the user's need for fast mobility should be taken into account in the future day.

Making breakthroughs in railways is also one of the things that should be done in order to support people's mobility. Like tit for tat, in the midst of developed countries that have succeeded in demonstrating transportation transformation by building high-speed trains, the Indonesian government is also starting to pioneer the new face of railroads in Indonesia. Since it was initiated in the SBY era, this project has rolled on to the Jokowi era. Initially, the government conducted a feasibility study for the construction of the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-fast train with a distance of 748 km which is projected to be reached in 5.5 hours duration with a speed of 160 km/hour. This study was carried out by the government with the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) in 2014. However, based on economic and political considerations, in the end the government decided to build a fast train in stages, starting with opening the Jakarta-Bandung line with a length of around 150 km. (Sugianto, 26/02/2018).

With an open auction system, in the end the government determines China as the winner of the tender to carry out the project. Scheme B to B from China being one of the main reasons when compared to the scheme G to G Japan in terms of financing. Apart from the budgeting mechanism, the problem is how important is the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project in the midst of already sufficient existing transportation?

Seeing the Tegalluar Station, Seeing the Urgency

One of the many questions that almost always arise in the mind of the development of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project is who is this development for? If you look at the details of the costs that must be spent for one fast train ride, it seems that the community is quite objectionable if they have to spend Rp. 250,000-Rp. 350,000. At least I got this statement while visiting the location of Tegalluar Station, which is a fast train station in Bandung. Even though it bears the name Tegalluar, the location of the station actually swallows up most of the people's land in Cibiru Hilir Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency, West Java. Agus Gunawan, one of the heads of the local hamlet whose land has been affected by the construction of the station, also indicated his reluctance to take the high-speed train because the cost is quite high. On the other hand, the safety aspect is also one of the considerations. Even so, Agus admits that he supports the development of the high-speed train project, especially since the station is located right in his village. The reason is, land prices have increased, as well as the economy of the surrounding community has partly grown. He gave an example that there were many food stalls and boarding houses.

In developing the plan to build a high-speed train station in his area, Agus admitted that there was no visible resistance from the residents that was serious enough. The same thing was conveyed by Galih Hendrawan, Head of Tegalluar Village, who stated that the construction of the Tegalluar Station was relatively smooth and there were few objections. However, as far as his observations go, his involvement as a village official is only limited to the land acquisition mechanism for some of the residents who are affected by development. In general, the construction of the Tegalluar Station can be said to be minimal in conflict.

In principle, the question of building the Jakarta-Bandung fast train is no longer talking about conflict management. Like the general opinion of the surrounding community, Dr. R. Widya Setiabudi Sumadinata (Dean of Social Sciences, Padjadjaran University). He stated that the current Bandung-Jakarta transportation is sufficient so that the local residents actually don't really need the construction of a high-speed train if the local residents do not have access to it. Both access fees and also access to the location of the station which currently does not seem adequate. Nonetheless, Widya emphasized that conceptually, the development of inter-city connectivity is quite good if it is projected with future transportation challenges. Furthermore, Widya suspects that the target market for this fast train is business people who need fast-paced mobilization.

A similar tone was conveyed by a transportation observer, Darmaningtyas. More critically, he firmly explained that the Jakarta-Bandung fast train project was an unnecessary project and a waste of budget. Furthermore, he stated that what needs to be realized from the construction of this high-speed train is that the project will become a burden on the state budget. The crucial thing that needs to be done is to make policies so that the burden on the budget can be kept to a minimum. Darmaningtyas considers that the development of urban planning is an important matter to consider in welcoming the first high-speed train in Indonesia. Political decisions and development governance policies at infrastructure points need to be realized immediately. The location of the Tegalluar Station, for example, needs to be immediately built supporting infrastructure to support the growth of new economic patterns in the area. On the other hand, at least this support can encourage the establishment of a new ecosystem for transportation using fast trains.

Hope for Development High Speed Rail

Amidst some skeptical questions about the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung fast train, at the very least, this development needs to be interpreted as a breakthrough for rail transportation in Indonesia. When viewed from the budgeting scheme and economic calculations in the current high-speed train development, many observers believe that the state will suffer losses. In regional relations, for example, investment in new transportation infrastructure does little to reduce regional inequality (Puga, 2002). Puga noted that increasing connectivity between regions with different levels of development not only allows less developed regions to have access to better markets, but also makes it easier for companies in developed regions to supply industrialization interests to poorer regions. Even so, this industrialization interaction is also slightly harmful to areas with lower levels of development, which can impact development growth prospects, environmental conditions, and also the quality of life of individuals.

The appropriate analogy to describe the pattern of economic growth is at least like that which occurs in development projects Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV), which is a French fast train that connects Paris and Lyon. One of the targets to be achieved in the TGV development project is the growth of a new economic center along the Part-Dieu station in Lyon. However, in practice, many business head office relocations have moved from Lyon to Paris. This phenomenon is inversely proportional to the development target in the form of new commercial points in Lyon (Duranton & Puga, 2001). Nevertheless, despite the relocation of business offices, so far from a few High Speed Rail (HSR) in the world, only the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo-Osaka) train line and the Paris-Lyon TGV high-speed train have financial aspects that are profitable (Suhendra, 07/09/2015). So how do we see the Jakarta-Bandung fast train?

First, when viewed from the target market, it can at least refer to the study of Thahjono et. al (2020). This study uses Discrete Choice Models (DCM) by comparing the two types of transportation modes, namely between High Speed Train (HST) with existing transportation (train, bus, shuttle/travel, or car). Data collected based on a survey of 1057 respondents after going through binomial logit model shows that in general train users will be more interested in switching modes of transportation using the HST. From this study, at least there are answers about who will choose to take the fast train amid the relatively higher prices compared to other transportation such as buses, shuttles, and also cars. The problem is, at the same time, the Cikampek II Toll Road will also be opened soon. According to Darmaningtyas, this shows that passenger competition will occur. If you want to encourage people to switch to the fast train mode of transportation, then the valves of other modes of transportation must be closed. This is necessary to increase the passenger surplus. The same thing was conveyed by Thahjono, et. al (2020) which states that in accordance with economic principles, it is necessary to target consumer surplus. One alternative is to apply tariff differentiation like a pricing strategy in the world of the airline or railroad industry abroad.

Another thing that needs to be looked at in the development of the Jakarta-Bandung fast train is the choice of station locations. If you look at the typology of HSR stations in Europe, there are three types of impact on cities that occur from the choice of station location (Hall, 2009). The first type, namely when the station is located on the side or inside Central Business District (CBD). This location allows increasing/strengthening the attractiveness of the CBD as a place for commercial investment. The second type, namely stations which are usually located on the outskirts of the city, adjacent to, but separated from, the main city center. This choice of location will assist in developing sub-centres and encouraging the development of urban areas. The third type, namely stations that are used as suburban movers on the outskirts of urban areas, with the intention of creating new commercial areas (Hall, 2009).

Referring to this typology, the location of the Tegalluar Station can be identified in the second and third types. This depends on the development projections that the policy makers want to achieve from the construction of the Tegalluar Station. What is clear, however, is that the second and third types will basically be able to help promote the transformation of a monocentric city into a polycentric urban area. Bruinsma, et. al (2008) explained that having HSR stations far from the city center can help in the development of more nodes and city centers by connecting urban patterns and infrastructure networks together. Discussing the development of the European high-speed rail network, Vickerman, et. al (1999) show increased accessibility for hub cities in the European Union, as well as for peripheral cities. However, what needs to be understood from the HSR-Urban interaction is its role in influencing the urban economy, namely the role of the catalyst and the role of facilitating. Like many business offices that migrated from Lyon to Paris due to the existence of the TGV, this can be interpreted as a catalytic role in the development of high-speed trains. Meanwhile, the facilitating role refers to how accessibility improves the local economy (Berg & Pol, 1998).

The hope is of course that the high-speed rail network can facilitate the growth of new commercial stretches in areas such as Tegalluar Station. The challenge going forward is that it is necessary to encourage development in the Tegalluar Station area as soon as possible. However, Tegalluar Station is not a station targeted as a mode of transportation point to point, but more identical to hub to hub. If viewed from the point of view of transportation and development concepts, the need for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is mandatory to encourage commercial development in Tegalluar. Thus the hope to improve demand and consumer surplus can be facilitated, so that the shift in passengers from existing transportation is gradually realized to encourage sustainability from the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, which later became known as the Indonesia-China Fast Train (KCIC).

Reference

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• Personal interview with Galih Hendrawan, Tegalluar Village Office, Bandung, (18 August 2022).
• Personal interview with Darmaningtyas, Jakarta, (15 September 2022).