Five city railway stations ready for possible passenger onslaught
Five city railway stations ready for possible passenger onslaught
JAKARTA (JP): Five railway stations in the city have taken measures to cope with the onslaught of passengers on the days leading up to Idul Fitri which falls on Feb. 20 and Feb. 21.
The five are the Kota, Gambir, Pasar Senen, Jatinegara and Manggarai stations.
Pasar Senen station, which is for economy class trains only, will have extra ticket sales counters. It will set up a 3,125- square-meter tent.
"We are preparing the parking lot for the tent. The tent will be set up on Feb. 13, a week before Idul Fitri," M. Chotib, an officer of the Pasar Senen station confirmed on Saturday.
Besides extra ticket counters, the tent, which will be able to accommodate 9,000 people, will also have an information counter.
Similar tents will also be set up at the Jatinegara (1,500 square meters) and Manggarai (300 square meters) stations. The tents will be used as waiting rooms.
It is hoped that the tents will also prevent passengers from entering unauthorized areas.
The Manggarai railway station, which is normally used for city trains plying the routes between Jakarta and its surrounding areas, will be used for the Jakarta-Yogyakarta economy class trains, Galuh Jaya and Empu Jaya.
Increase
A significant increase in the number of passengers was seen at the five stations on Saturday. There was a long queue of people wanting to buy tickets for Yogyakarta and Surabaya at Gambir station.
Supriadi, a passenger, said that he and his family decided to leave the city early in order to experience a fasting month in their hometown of Yogyakarta.
The Pasar Senen station also saw an increase in the number of people purchasing tickets on Saturday. "We decided to go home early and we are lucky to get a discount," one passenger said.
The railway is offering 10 to 15 percent discounts on fares for people who travel economy class between Feb. 6 to Feb. 15.
Both Gambir and Pasar Senen, the major stations in Jakarta, will deploy more security officers during the seven days before Idul Fitri.
Pasar Senen station will be used for economy class trains, including Jakarta-Surabaya Kertajaya (Rp 16,000 for a ticket) and Gaya Baru trains (Rp 10,000 per ticket).
Jatinegara station will also be used for economy class trains plying the Yogyakarta and Semarang routes: Kutojaya and Cepat Semarang trains.
The Kota and Gambir stations will be used for executive and business class trains, such as the Jakarta-Surabaya express train Argo Bromo (Rp 90,000 a ticket), the Jakarta-Yogyakarta express train Fajar Utama (Rp 41,000 for executive class and Rp 19,000 for business class) and the Jakarta-Bandung express train Argo Gedhe (Rp 30,000) (04)