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Indonesia has launched its first high-speed railway, a £5.9 billion project connecting the capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung, an economic hub. The China-backed, 142km railway – officially named Whoosh (“time-saving, optimal operation, reliable system” in Indonesian) – was due to open in 2019 but was delayed because of issues with land procurement, the Covid pandemic and a reported £984 million budget overrun. Whose must still feel like a good result to Jeremy Hunt, the British chancellor, who hinted this morning at further cuts to the UK’s HS2 high-speed rail project – where costs are now said to be in the £70-£90 billion ballpark. “As chancellor, I do have to answer the question about why it costs 10 times more to build high-speed rail in this country than across the channel in France,” Hunt told the BBC.