The rollout of high-speed rail across Asia is driving an exciting revolution in rail travel and shaping new tourism trends, including for Gary Bowerman.
Monday, October 2, 2023, was a landmark day in the history of rail travel in Southeast Asia. The new Whoosh train slowly pulled out of Jakarta’s Halim Station, cementing Indonesia’s status as ASEAN’s first high-speed rail nation. Painted to resemble Indonesia’s Komodo dragon, the Chinese-built high-speed train sprinted at speeds of up to 350 kph along the 142-km stretch of track between Indonesia’s capital and its third-largest city, Bandung.
A high-speed train called “Whoosh” with the “Whoosh” logo on its front passes through the Kopo in Bandung. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Naufal Faras
The 50-minute trip has quickly become a tourist attraction. “There is a growing demand from travelers from Southeast Asian countries to ride the Whoosh train,” says Paulin Suharno, chairman of ASTINDO (Association of Indonesian Travel Agents), which partners with PT KAI (Indonesian Railways) to sell Bandung tour packages to passengers. Demand for such travel services is widespread, he adds, “We get a lot of requests for tours from students and companies in ASEAN countries from Jakarta to Bandung.”
5 high speed rail destinations in Asia
The Whoosh service, which will likely be extended to second-largest city Surabaya in the future, has made Indonesia Asia’s fifth high-speed rail destination. The express journey began in 1964, when Japan announced its first bullet train route linking Tokyo and Osaka just before the Olympics. Six decades later, the country’s network continues to expand. In March, actress Ayami Nakajo inaugurated the new section between Kanazawa and Fukui, the first since September 2022. Rail fans will have to wait a little longer for the opening of the long-awaited Hokkaido Line extension to the vibrant northern city of Sapporo, which has been delayed until 2030.
Japan’s high-speed rail system has expanded across the country since the first Shinkansen line opened in 1964. Image: Photo by robin inizan on Unsplash
South Korea’s high-speed rail network began operations in 2004 and now connects cities north to south and east to west. In the first quarter of 2024, a record 24.3 million passengers rode South Korea’s high-speed rail. In 2007, Taiwan opened a 350-kilometer high-speed rail line connecting Taipei in the north and Kaohsiung in the south. South Korea and Taiwan offer high-speed rail through scenic inland and coastal areas, as well as seasonal services that allow tourists to explore less-visited areas. In May, South Korea launched seven new rail trips in the spring that visit North Gyeongsang, Gangwon, and North Chungcheong provinces. Also in May, Taiwan introduced the Vivid Express, a package train trip through the alpine forests of Alishan National Park.
The world’s largest high-speed rail network is in China, where the first was unveiled just before the 2008 Olympics. In between covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I took the 27-minute journey from Beijing to the coastal city of Tianjin. On board, every mobile phone camera was pointed at the speedometer of each carriage, and they all snapped away when the signal for a top speed of 350km/h was announced. This is the fastest intercity passenger train in the world.
Over the next 16 years, China built 45,000 km of rail connectivity across the country, including a high-speed rail bridge across the Taiwan Strait linking Fuzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou. The next milestone is scheduled for 2025, with the rollout of China’s new CR450 trains, capable of speeds of up to 450 km/h.
Popular train travel in China
Fast, punctual and comfortable rail connectivity is driving travel planning choices and turning rail travel into a destination marketing tool. During China’s three-year pandemic quarantine, cities have begun to use high-speed rail to attract domestic tourists. Rail travel has become a trending topic on social media, with Gen Z posting on apps like Douyin and Xiaohongshu about the on-board activities and services they enjoyed en route to their destinations, such as private cabins with flatbeds and bespoke meals ordered over the phone and delivered to the train at scheduled stops.
Zibo-style barbecue. This style of barbecue originates from Zibo, China, a city that has recently become a hot topic for its outdoor markets. Image: Wikimedia Commons
High-speed rail travel was the backdrop to Zibo, in Shandong province, emerging as a spring travel hotspot for 2023. Local officials posted a video on Douyin about an outdoor barbecue market. It quickly went viral and sparked a social engagement campaign. “Special barbecue trains” were operated on weekends. Hotel rates for students were reduced as more young travelers from across China arrived. Previously overlooked by tourists, Zibo saw an 800% increase in hotel bookings for the 2023 May holiday compared to 2019.
The Golden Tourist Line is similarly transforming tourism in the beautiful landscapes of Guizhou and Guangxi. The two-hour train journey has inspired young travelers to share their experiences online. Social posts with hashtags like “Traveled 1,300km in 30 hours to see 6 beautiful places” and “Challenge completed to taste all of Guizhou’s amazing cuisine in 24 hours by train” have generated millions of fan engagements.
Revitalizing nature tourism in Laos
Two popular tourist destinations in Asia are gearing up to cash in on the excitement of faster rail tourism. India is set to open its first 250kph high-speed rail service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad later this century. This will be followed by a high-speed rail linking the Thai capital Bangkok to the Laos border, where it will join the China-Laos railway, linking Thailand, Laos and China by land. Even more intriguing, Thailand will launch a new parallel rail service between Bangkok and Vientiane in July, which will have narrower tracks and run at significantly slower speeds than the high-speed rail that is still under construction.
Although the China-Laos railway is not a high-speed rail (its top speed of 160 kph does not meet the 200 kph standard), it is the first stage of a China-Southeast Asia railway, a series of train lines that will eventually link Kunming in southwest China with Singapore, with trains also passing through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.
The China-Laos railway crossing the Mekong River north of Luang Prabang, Laos. Image: Wikimedia Commons
The China-Laos railway was completed in December 2021, but cross-border travel was postponed until April 2023, when China reopens its borders post-COVID-19. The railway not only attracts Chinese tourists to Laos, but also travellers from around the world. It runs from the Chinese border through the heart of Laos, with stops in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, to the capital Vientiane, allowing access to an area of spectacular natural beauty.
“Accessibility is crucial for the development of nature-based adventure tourism. More than 80 percent of Laos is mountainous and has 20 national parks, but the road infrastructure is poor,” says Inthi Douangsavanh, founder of the Vientiane-based Inthira Group, which operates eco-friendly hotels and adventure travel experiences across Laos. “Now, every new tourism project is within range of the railway line, which we hope will help Laos become a centre for adventure ecotourism in Southeast Asia.”
Next stop: Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Bali
As rail travel becomes more popular among domestic and international tourists, new tourism-related rail projects are being proposed frequently, including a magnetic levitation train on the Malaysian island of Langkawi and a high-speed rail link between Cambodia and Laos, while the first light rail for tourists on the Indonesian island of Bali could enter the bidding stage later this year after years of discussion.
Perhaps the most exciting is Vietnam’s long-discussed north-south railway. Starting at the China border, the proposed high-speed rail route would carry passengers from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south, stopping at various coastal towns and cities. Questions remain about the project’s financing and logistics, but if successful, the railway would revolutionize Vietnam’s tourism industry. But don’t rush out to buy your tickets; the first train won’t leave the station until 2040 at the earliest.
– Asia Media Center
