The Whoosh Fast Train in Indonesia is not just a mode of transportation for residents traveling between Jakarta and Bandung. It’s a unique experience that has piqued the interest of many foreign tourists.
As in this viral video uploaded on TikTok @abbyngaz.
“Our Favorite Thing About Indonesia so far…”
In the video, a foreigner is seen riding Whoosh and likes the fast train’s catchphrase.
@abbyngaz Been living rent free in our heads for about a month now 😂. Some marketing genuis calling their train ‘Whoosh’ and having ‘whoosh whoosh whoosh, yeah’ as their catch phrase 😂. #indonesiatravel #indonesia #traveltiktok ♬ Smalltown Boy (Remaster) – Bronski Beat
“Been living rent free in our heads for about a month now 😂. Some marketing genius calling their train ‘Whoosh’ and having ‘whoosh whoosh whoosh, yeah’ as their catch phrase,” she wrote in the caption.
If you’ve ever ridden Whoosh, the voiceover on the train often says whoosh whoosh, whoosh, yeah.
It turns out that these words are very catchy and ring true for the passengers.
It’s not just this foreign tourist who had a good experience riding Whoosh. A British YouTuber, Jason Travel, was amazed when he tried the the fast train for Jakarta-Bandung. He shared his positive experience in a video.
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Jason started his journey from Halim Station, Jakarta. He bought a First Class ticket for IDR 600,000. He admitted that he was excited to try it because he loves trains.
Upon arriving at Halim Station, Jason was surprised that the station was so clean, comfortable, and modern. He compared the quality of the station to train stations in the UK.
“I’m resting in an air-conditioned station. It’s much better than any station in the UK. I mean, we don’t have fast trains in the UK, just regular old slow trains,” Jason said.
The fast train tickets do vary from IDR 200,000 – to IDR 600,000.
Since its commercial operation in October 2023, Whoosh has served 4 million passengers.
General Manager Corporate Secretary of PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) Eva Chairunisa said that at the beginning of the operation, there was an average daily volume of around 9,000 passengers.
Currently, the volume of Whoosh passengers has reached around 18,000-22,000 people per day.
Whoosh, pillow theft case
Despite the favorable reception, Whoosh recently received some bad news. The cushions on the backs of the premium economy class seats on the high-speed trains are frequently missing.
As of July 2024, six incidents of missing pillows from the train seats have occurred.
KCIC also said that 44 CCTVs available on each train can trace all of these cases. Based on the CCTV search results, some passengers deliberately removed the pillow from the seat back.
In some cases, some people were suspected of deliberately taking the pillow.
The act of removing or taking the cushion from the train seat results in damage to the facility and reduced passenger comfort, which can prevent other passengers from enjoying this facility.
If the cushion on the train seat is missing, KCIC needs to procure and replace it. This results in additional operational costs for KCIC, which could have been used for other service improvements.
