TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) inaugurated the Whoosh Karawang Station on Tuesday, December 24, 2024. Using the fast train, the travel time for the Halim-Karawang Station route is only 15 minutes, much faster than traveling by car, which takes about 1 hour.  

"So hopefully the presence of Karawang station can increase the number of passengers. "It can help people's transportation," he said at Karawang Station, on Tuesday, December 24, 2024.  

AHY said Karawang is one of the largest rice-producing districts in the country. He said that the district is also an international industrial center. Therefore, the inauguration of this station, according to AHY, will significantly impact the economy.  

"So the new station connecting Jakarta-Karawang and Karawang-Bandung can be strategic and significant. "Because it shortens the travel time," AHY said. 

The son of the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, estimates that the presence of the Karawang station will increase the number of high-speed train passengers by 3,000 to 5,000 per day. This number may increase if road access to Whoosh Karawang Station is improved and integrated with other transportation facilities.

Meanwhile, the president director of Whoosh company PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, said that until December, the average number of passengers using the high-speed train was recorded at more than 21,000 per day. This performance came from three stations, namely Halim, Padalarang, and Tegalluar.

"Later, God willing, after the operation of Karawang station today, it will be more complete to four stations."

Dwiyana also said that 20 trains will stop at Karawang station daily in the first stage. In the second stage, scheduled for February 1, the train frequency will increase to 62 daily trips, with 31 trains stopping at Karawang Station.

"Of course, we hope that with the operation of Karawang Station, the number of passengers will gradually continue to increase," he said.

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