By: Ainur RohmahIndonesia’s first high-speed rail line connecting Jakarta with Bandung in West Java is now staring at a financial abyss. Touted as Southeast Asia’s first bullet train, the project, a China-Indonesia joint venture known as PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), was once heralded as a symbol of Indonesia’s modernization. Controversial From the StartThe Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail was launched during the administration of President Joko Widodo, who inaugurated it on October 2, 2023, with commercial operations beginning on October 17, 2023, under the brand name Whoosh. High-speed rail, in his view, was better suited for long-distance corridors, such as Jakarta-Surabaya. When he launched the project in 2016, he promised that the high-speed rail would not burden the state budget, as it would be financed through a business-to-business scheme between Indonesian and Chinese SOEs.