The train will operate on Makassar to Parepare route during its initial stage, which later will be integrated with the Trans-Sulawesi railway. ITB was officially appointed to lead the research team.

The appointment was officiated through an agreement note signing on the 17th of July 2022 by PT INKA, PT KAI (Persero), and nine universities, including Institut Teknologi Bandung represented by the Dean of FMAE ITB, Prof. Dr. Ir. Tatacipta Dirgantara, M.T. The researcher consortium had successfully obtained research funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture through the Matching Fund scheme.

The construction of the Merah Putih Highspeed Railway (MRHR) will mark Indonesia's concrete step toward achieving the Indonesian Economy Acceleration and Development Expansion Masterplan (EADEM) to overcome its problems and become a developed country and being in the ten largest economies in the world by 2025.

Simultaneously, the Makassar-Parepare Highspeed Railway project is a part of the government plan to increase the number of train tracks in Indonesia, which currently stands at 6000 km and is targeted to reach 10,000 km by 2030.

In the initial stage, MRHR will operate on the Makassar-Parepare route, extending 140 km and going through 7 stations. Different from previous operating trains in Indonesia, MRHR has several design advantages.

Implementing the Concepts of Light, Smart, and Hybrid Train

The Makassar-Parepare train integrated the light, hybrid, and smart train concepts. The smart concept represented the communication and information system, utilizing the latest technology that allows the train to self-drive through the tracks and stops at destination stations.

The light concept indicates the train's lightweight construction. It will be made of aluminum and fiber composite materials, often used on airplane structures, differing from steel-based conventional trains. The basis of 'hybrid' is its electricity-powered nature, which is produced by the diesel machine and stored in the battery. This design consideration was caused by the condition of electricity supplies in Sulawesi, which could not provide the electric network needed for the train's full-electric operation.

Classified as High-Speed Railway

MRHR will be designed to operate with a maximum speed of 220 km/hour and thus can be classified as a high-speed railway. This contrasts with other local trains, whose speed limits are around 100 km/hour. Even if at first the train can only operate at 200 km/hour, MRHR will be easily upgraded to operate at higher speeds (350 km/hour).

In 2022, ITB sent five research teams from the FMAE setting consisting of:
-MRHR Static fatigue Carbody team (Prof. Dr. Ir. Ichsan Setya Putra),
-MRHR Static fatigue and dynamics Bogie team (Dr. Ir. Yunendar Aryo Handoko),
-MRHR Crashworthiness team (Prof. Dr. Ir. Tatacipta Dirgantara),
-MRHR aerodynamics team (Dr. Pramudita Satria Palar) and
-MRHR floor material and insulation team (Dr. Ir. Riza Wirawan)

The five teams work together to design and analyze the train body, crashworthiness, floor, and bogie of the MRHR. In late 2022, the research teams finished the planning and calculation, although they still needed optimization on some parts of the train. The planning and calculation result is ready to be used for the prototyping stage by PT INKA, which is predicted to be finished in 2023. Afterward, the prototype will operate on the Makassar-Parepare route by late 2023.

Looking at Indonesia's geographic condition, trains represent a profitable mode of transportation in Indonesia. The construction of new train tracks will continue in regions such as Sumatera and Sulawesi, alongside the development of other train types in Indonesia. Train projects have been considered contributive and supportive towards accelerating and expanding Indonesia's economic development in various regions. (FMAE Release)

Translator: Firzana Aisya (Bioengineering, 2021)