Is Indonesia planning a Java-Bali high-speed railway?

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has proposed extending the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway to Banyuwangi in East Java. There are already plans to extend the line to Surabaya, though the Banyuwangi extension is a new proposal.

Banyuwangi is a small city, so the only reason to extend the line to Banyuwangi would be to provide a connection to Bali at the Ketapang ferry port. Is it possible that Indonesia is planning to build a Java-Bali high-speed railway?

This might seem unrealistic, but there have been other infrastructure proposals that would make it technically possible. A Java-Bali bridge has been previously proposed, and there is a long-term plan to build a railway around the island of Bali. Combine those proposals with a high-speed railway to Banyuwangi, then it could be possible to build a railway from Jakarta to Denpasar.

Jakarta – Denpasar by train

Here are the sections that are required to build a high-speed railway from Jakarta to Denpasar.

Bandung – Surabaya

Indonesia has already built the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (known as Whoosh) has a top operating speed of 350 km/h, making it one of the fastest railways in the world.

There are now plans to extend the line to Surabaya, which is expected to cut travel time to just 3.5 hours for the 780-kilometre journey from Jakarta.

Surabaya to Banyuwangi

There is already a railway between Surabaya and Banyuwangi. It’s a slow train that uses diesel-powered engines, though it is a scenic route if you choose to overland to Bali.

It is not an obvious corridor to build a high-speed railway, thus, I am wondering if Prabowo is planning an extension to Bali.

Bali Strait Bridge

There has been a proposal to build a bridge between Java and Bali across the Bali Strait. This proposal has not gained any traction beyond the initial announcement, but I place it here as being officially mentioned.

If there were to be a high-speed railway, the bridge would need to be a shared road and rail bridge. There are such bridges elsewhere, such as the Øresund Bridge and the Tongling Yangtze River Third Bridge.

Bali Railway

Bali has been in the news over the last few years for the plan to build a 20 billion dollar metro system in the south of Bali. This is in addition to an older plan to build a railway forming a circle line around the island.

None of these plans are close to beginning, so the Gilimanuk to Denpasar section could be upgraded to a high-speed railway before it is built.

Will Indonesia build a Java-Bali High-speed railway?

A unified railway from Java to Bali is not possible without the Bali Strait Bridge, and that is unlikely to ever be built.

There is also not a large enough population base in Banyuwangi to justify a high-speed railway, so the only reason to build a line there is to transfer passengers to Bali ferries. If there is no high-speed ferry and railway in Bali, then building a high-speed railway to Banyuwangi is pointless.

The Java-Bali ferry takes about an hour, and then the bus from Gilimanuk to Denpasar takes about 3 hours through terrible traffic. I have taken the train/ferry/bus trip from Jakarta to Denpasar, and the ferry/bus combo is not a trip for the general masses.

This railway might seem unrealistic, but some factors should keep us alert that a high-speed railway might be planned.

Prabowo has floated the idea of turning Bali into a financial hub. This was after previously saying that he hoped the North Bali Airport would help turn Bali into the new Singapore or Hong Kong, which he then denied meaning.

I have already written about how the Bali financial hub is a bad idea, and that Batam should be the financial hub of Indonesia.

A more sensible idea is to build the Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed railway. This should have been built in the first place, instead of pausing the line at Bandung. Jakarta and Surabaya are the two largest cities in Java on an island with over 150 million people.

The current Jakarta-Bandung line is too short (143 km) to justify a high-speed railway, and Indonesia is now grappling with the cost of this short line. Turn Jakarta-Surabaya into a trunk line that moves passengers across the island quickly, and upgrade the railways that connect to that line, such as the Surabaya to Banyuwangi line.