Jakarta. Approximately 1 million passengers have ridden the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train since it began its commercial operations on Oct. 17, according to Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the consortium that runs the project.

Nicknamed Whoosh, the train has been in operation for two months. Whoosh’s busiest day so far recorded 21,500 passengers within a day. The high-speed train also saw huge crowds of people wanting to go for a ride during the holiday season, KCIC’s president director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi said.  

A survey revealed that 48 percent of Whoosh passengers used to take their own vehicles. Dwiyana said that the survey showed that the Whoosh had been able to nudge people into switching from private vehicles to public transport.

“Great facilities and efficient services help encourage people to pick public transport like Whoosh. This helps cut [people’s] reliance on private vehicles,” Dwiyana said in a press statement on Tuesday.

Dwiyana reported that Whoosh had operated without any incident since its launch. 

The $7.3 billion Whoosh project is Southeast Asia’s first high-speed train. 

Whoosh is funded in part by China's Belt and Road Initiative in which Beijing invests in infrastructure development projects across the globe. 

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