Commuters Still Flock to Pasar Senen Station, Resorting to Sitting on the Floor

JAKARTA - Although Eid al-Fitr has concluded, the flow of outbound travellers at Pasar Senen Station in Central Jakarta remains busy, as observed on Monday (23/3/2026). Kompas.com observations at the location at 14:00 WIB showed hundreds of prospective travellers crowding the waiting areas and departure terminals at the station. Dozens of people were seen sitting on the floor of the departure terminal while awaiting the schedule for long-distance trains. Spokesman for KAI’s Daop 1 Jakarta, Franoto Wibowo, stated that on this day, there are 19,056 passengers set to travel from Pasar Senen Station. The destinations of the travellers include Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, and Solo. “Meanwhile, the outbound flow departing from Daop 1 today is still as high as 43,992 passengers. In addition to departures from Pasar Senen, there are also 12,861 passengers departing from Gambir Station today,” Franoto said at Pasar Senen Station on Monday. The remainder of the travellers are departing from stations in Bekasi, Cikampek, Cikarang, Jatinegara, and Karawang. Franoto acknowledged that the outbound flow from Daop 1 Jakarta remains high even though Eid has ended. At the same time, the Eid return flow is starting to appear today. It is estimated that there are 51,015 train passengers returning from their hometowns. Meanwhile, the peak of the Eid return flow using trains in Daop 1 Jakarta is expected to occur on Tuesday (24/3/2026). “Looking at the current figures, the temporary highest number for arrivals is tomorrow,” Franoto said. The Eid return flow is predicted to continue until 29 March 2026. “On average, around 50,000 passengers arrive daily at stations in the Daop 1 Jakarta area. There will be a slight decrease in return passengers on 30 and 31 March, and 1 April,” he continued. Franoto added that during the return flow period, 20 additional trains will be operated. These consist of 13 trains heading to Pasar Senen Station and seven trains heading to Gambir Station.