On my 2024 trip to Indonesia I had the distinction of riding the railways of Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi. These are the only islands in Indonesia with passenger railways, so it was good to see how the railways compare between the islands. This report is an overview of Indonesia’s railways as of 2024. Sumatra The […]
Railways
Java Rail Pass proposal: putting Java train travel on the world tourism map
The Java Rail Pass is a proposed tourist rail pass to promote train travel in Java and diversify tourism beyond Bali. The island of Java has one of the most extensive railway networks in Southeast Asia, yet it barely registers interest on an international level. Indonesian Railways (PT Kereta Api Indonesia) has a website that […]
How to fix Makkasan Station, Bangkok’s failed City Air Terminal
Makkasan Station is a station on the Airport Rail Link (ARL) connecting central Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Airport. It’s a grand station from the outside, but on the inside it’s a ghost town. [City Air Terminal at Makkasan Station, now off-limits to passengers.] The station was built with check-in counters for flights, so you could check-in […]
How to fix KL Sentral: ideas to fix the worst station in Southeast Asia
Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station is going to be redeveloped at the end of 2024. Here are some ideas to improve the station. KL Sentral opened in 2001, replacing Kuala Lumpur Station as the central station. KL Sentral was designed to handle 100,000 commuters a day, but it’s now handling 200,000 commuters per day. After over […]
Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station redevelopment
The Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station redevelopment is a proposed rebuild of the central station of Kuala Lumpur. KL Sentral was built in 2001 (replacing Kuala Lumpur Station as the central station), and it was designed to accommodate 100,000 commuters a day. The station now sees 200,000 commuters per day. The estimated RM1 billion project will […]
Eastern Visayas Metro Rail System: A railway connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte in the Philippines
The Eastern Visayas Metro Rail System is a proposed railway in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The railway would connect the islands of Samar and Leyte. The Eastern Visayas railway was first proposed in 1999. The plan was revived in 2023 with the announcement of a task force to investigate the feasibility of […]
Ngoc Hoi Railway Station: The Hanoi station for the North-South high-speed railway
Ngoc Hoi Railway Station is the proposed Hanoi station for the North-South high-speed railway of Vietnam. The station complex will be a transport hub for the high-speed railway, national railways, and the Hanoi Metro. The Ngoc Hoi site is approximately 10 km south of Hanoi Railway Station on a site covering about 171ha. The land […]
Southeast Asia Railways Report – 2023 edition
Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway: The fastest train in Southeast Asia
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a high-speed train service in Java, Indonesia. The train can travel at a speed of up to 350 km/h, making it the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia. The railway officially opened on the 2nd of October 2023. The current railway between Jakarta and Bandung takes from 2h 50m to […]
Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High-Speed Rail
The Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) was a planned railway from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore via a high-speed rail line. This would be a new line on a different route to the current KL-Singapore railway. The high-speed railway would travel at a speed of 320km/h over 350 kilometres, with a travel time of 90 […]
