Extra Train Tickets Sold Out

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A railway worker walks along a platform near a locomotive under repair on Thursday (5/23/2019) at the Balai Yasa Yogyakarta train depot. Operational Area 6 of state railway company PT KAI has completed repairs and maintenance on 30 locomotives in preparation for the upcoming Lebaran holiday. The 30 locomotives were among the 43 locomotives that underwent repairs and maintenance at the train depot this year.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Three weeks before Lebaran, additional train tickets from Jakarta to a number of cities in Central Java, East Java and Yogyakarta during mudik (exodus) have been sold out. PT Kereta Api Indonesia will operate 20 additional trains and 58 regular trains every day from 10 days before Lebaran (H-10) to 10 days after Lebaran (H+10).

PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Jakarta public relations head Eva Chairunisa said tickets for regular trains and additional trains from Jakarta for H-8 to H-1 were sold out. These are tickets for Jakarta en route to Solo and Semarang, Malang and Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

According to Eva, train tickets from Jakarta are still available for departure on H-10 and H-9. Overall, 92.3 percent of tickets for H-10 to H-1 are sold out. Of the 422,988 seats available, 390,758 have been sold. "What is left is generally for medium-distance routes, such as to Cirebon and Bandung," Eva said on Thursday (23/5/2019) in Jakarta.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Several hauling trucks and other, smaller vehicles park on May 13, 2019 at the Kilometer Marker 33 rest area on the Bakauheni-Bandar Lampung toll road in Kalianda, South Lampung. Many vendors have set up stall tents to serve food and drinks at the rest area, which does not yet have a gas station or public toilets.

She added that PT KAI would operate 78 trains from Jakarta on May 26 to June 16, 2019, consisting of 58 regular trains and 20 additional trains. Of that number, 32 regular trains and 12 additional trains depart from Gambir Station, while 26 regular trains and eight additional trains depart from Pasar Senen Station.

PT KAI\'s Public Relations Vice President Edy Kuswoyo said PT KAI would operate 356 regular trains and 50 additional trains for Lebaran 2019, or 406 trains daily nationwide. The number is an increase of about 3 percent from last year, when 393 trains were operated.

Even though tickets are sold out, some people in Jakarta are still hoping that more additional trains will be operated. Yunanto Syah, 27, for example, last week monitored KAI Access\'s application to find tickets from Jakarta to Semarang on May 31, 2019.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

The brightly lit Trans-Java toll road snakes through rice fields near the East Probolinggo tollgate in Probolinggo regency, East Java, as seen on May 15, 2019. The East Probolinggo tollgate is the last tollgate on the Trans-Java toll road, as the road’s easternmost Probolinggo-Banyuwangi section has not yet been built.

Meanwhile, PT KAI Purwokerto has voiced concern over 12 spots that are prone to natural disasters, such as landslides and floods, along the railroad tracks during the homebound exodus. Disaster handling equipment and materials have been prepared in a number of locations.

"The prone areas are between Slawi-Prupuk, Songgom-Prupuk, Prupuk-Linggapura, Banjar-Langen, Kawunganten-Jeruklegi, Jeruklegi-Lebeng, Tambak-Ijo, and Linggapura-Bu-miayu," public relations manager for the Purwokerto area Supriyanto said in Purwokerto, Banyumas, Central Java.

Additional train facilities

Separately, PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) managing director Wiwik Widayanti said passenger numbers were expected to reach 11.5 million from H-7 to H+7 or up 3 percent more from last year. PT KCI has added a number of facilities, such as ticket machines, manual lockets, portable counters, portable toilets and nursing rooms.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A truck passes a roadwork sign on Saturday (5/18/2019) in Lumbir district, Banyumas regency, Central Java. A roadwork crew is repairing the damage caused by a recent landslide in the area, and are scheduled to complete the repairs 10 days before Idul Fitri. The Kompas daily’s 2019 mudik (annual exodus) team has observed a number of ongoing road repairs on Java’s southern route.

A total of 236 ticket machines, 196 regular counters and 28 portable counters will be available at Bogor, Citayam, Depok, Depok Baru, Pasar Minggu, Manggarai and Bekasi stations. Eleven nursing rooms can be found at Bojong Gede, Tebet, Manggarai and Tanah Abang stations. Twelve portable toilets have been placed at Manggarai, Sudirman, Lenteng Agung, Citayam and Rawa Buntu stations.

(FRD/TAM/DKA/FRN/RAM/MEL/DIT/VIO/XTI/JOL/ILO)