by Nurul Fitri Ramadhani

JAKARTA, May 30 (Xinhua) — Walking out of Tegalluar station of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (HSR), locally known as Whoosh, in Indonesia’s Bandung city, people will find a number of kiosks selling snacks, food and beverages. The area outside the station is now busy with food sellers.

The situation was much different a few months ago, precisely in early October last year, when Whoosh was first launched and the station had just completed construction. It was quiet and all that could be seen were rice fields and barren fields.

Siti Fatimah, 30, one of the kiosk owners, told Xinhua that she opened her kiosk at her 18-square-meter house near the station when the Whoosh train started operation. She sells fried snacks and some meals. In the morning she usually has porridge on her menu. She was previously a housewife with one daughter, while her husband is a construction worker.

“Before I opened this kiosk, I had no income. Now I can earn even more than my husband, particularly during holidays,” she said.

Next to Fatimah’s kiosk is a stall owned by 43-year-old Suprijatna which sells beverages, including coffee and tea. He has opened his kiosk since March. With the operation of Tegalluar station, Suprijatna saw an opportunity to sell beverages to earn additional income, while still working in the rice field for at least two days a week.

“Now I can earn more to fulfill my family needs. Before selling beverages, I could only earn 500,000 rupiahs (30.76 U.S. dollars) a month. Now I can obtain at least 1 million rupiahs (61.53 dollars). The presence of this station is a blessing for local people like us,” he told Xinhua.

Suprijatna said most of his customers were construction workers who worked for the station, but recently there were more HSR passengers shopping at his kiosk before continuing their journey by shuttle buses.

Not only outside the station, there are also dozens of stalls and kiosks selling food and beverages inside Tegalluar station. Passengers can enjoy a variety of culinary delights served by local micro and small-medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Whoosh high-speed train has a design speed of 350 km per hour, connecting Halim station in East Jakarta to Tegalluar station in Bandung. Many reports said that the train raised curiosity from Indonesian public transport users as it could shorten the journey between the two cities from over three hours to about only 40 minutes.

In the inauguration of Whoosh last year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed optimism that the HSR would bring many benefits to the Indonesian people. “It will provide multiplier effects, from new job opportunities, especially for local communities, to economic growth in areas crossed by high-speed train lines,” he said.

Being the first of its kind in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, the Whoosh high-speed train reported a surge in passengers at every holiday moment.

PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture consortium between Indonesian and Chinese state-owned firms that constructs and runs the HSR, reported that the train hit the mark of transporting 2 million passengers in early March.

During a long-weekend holiday last week, KCIC also recorded a spike in the volume of passengers, with an average of 21,000 passengers per day or a 30 percent increase compared to normal days.

“We had predicted this increase in passengers during the long holiday. That was why we operated 48 trips with 28,000 available seats per day,” KCIC General Manager Corporate Secretary Eva Chairunisa said in a statement.

Acting Governor of West Java Bey Machmudin has said that local MSME players had filled various kiosks at Padalarang station, a stop for the HSR before Tegalluar, and Tegalluar station.

“West Java residents welcome the Whoosh train and it must be utilized as best as possible to improve the community’s economy. Ahead, we hope the MSMEs can also work with tourism associations to provide tour packages in Bandung,” he said.