First overseas high-speed railway project ready to roll

As the senior engineer who led the design team on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia, China's first overseas high-speed railway project to fully adopt Chinese technologies and standards, Xia Jian was confident that China could build the railway well from the beginning.

"I am very confident with China's high-speed railway network, as we have the world's largest, fastest and modern high-speed railway system, and have rich management experiences. We also have abundant experience in building and operating high-speed railways in different climates and geological conditions," said Xia from China Railway Design Corp, adding that China has strength in building high-speed railways and can build them fast.

He also noted that China's high-speed railway standards meet the technical standards of the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electro-technical Commission and the International Union of Railways.

"Thus, there is no obstacle for China's high-speed rail technology to go global," he added.

He admitted that during the bidding process, Japan was China's strongest rival as they had been looking at the project for several years. They also submitted feasibility study reports at multiple stages in 2014 and 2015, according to a report from State-broadcaster China Central Television.

China won the bidding in October 2015, and in the past seven years, Xia has spent most of his time in Indonesia.

"There was no high-speed railway in Indonesia. Besides completing the design plan, we had to explain the principles, standards and requirements of high-speed railway construction, such as how to classify different types of high-speed railways and how to arrange stations and platforms," he said.

Xia and the team paid great attention to ensuring peers in Indonesia could understand everything, clarifying the features of China's high-speed railways, including safety, economy and comfort.

"Passengers traveling between Jakarta and Bandung usually take the freeway or use a railway that is more than 100 years old, which is less comfortable, with the journey taking more than three hours. After the high-speed line opens, it will greatly reduce traffic jams between the two cities, attract investment, reduce environmental damage and promote commerce and tourism," he said.

The line will also greatly benefit local residents, just as the high-speed rail network in China has done, Xia added.

Complex geological conditions along the line posed challenges for designers and construction workers, but engineers worked to improve the design quality by incorporating China's latest high-speed railway technology.

"Local culture and religion have been fully respected in the design for the line's stations, which all have bathrooms and Muslim prayer rooms," he said.

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed line, which is expected to open in June, is a landmark project for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The 142-kilometer line, with a designed speed of 350 km/h, will cut the journey time between Jakarta and Bandung, capital of West Java province, from about three hours to 40 minutes.