Lebaran Train Ticket War: Passengers Fail Repeatedly Before Finally Securing Tickets

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The frenzied hunt for train tickets ahead of Lebaran, known as the ‘war tiket’, has become a familiar story for a number of would-be travellers at Pasar Senen Station in Central Jakarta. Many passengers say they have to compete with thousands of other travellers when tickets go on sale to secure a seat for the journey home.

One passenger, Fajar Maulana (28), a Jakarta resident, said he had to try repeatedly when taking part in the war tiket for a trip to Semarang.

“When the sale opened the first time I tried to buy immediately, but it sold out instantly. I ended up trying again several times before I could get one,” Fajar said when approached by Kompas.com in the station’s waiting room on Saturday (7/3/2026).

“I set an alarm in the middle of the night so I wouldn’t miss it. If you’re even a little late, it’s usually sold out,” he added.

Fajar said the train ticket he managed to buy for that journey cost around Rp420,000. He plans to celebrate Lebaran with his family in Semarang.

A similar story was shared by another passenger, Fatma (31), a resident of Tangerang, who intends to return to her hometown of Yogyakarta.

According to Fatma, she initially failed to obtain a ticket in the first attempt due to the high demand from travellers booking tickets simultaneously.

“At first I couldn’t get one because it was full straight away. I tried again a few days later and it finally worked,” Fatma said.

She said the ticket she bought for that journey was around Rp380,000.

Meanwhile, another passenger, Rizky Pratama (35), from East Jakarta, said he had been waiting for the ticket sale opening for a long time.

Rizky, who intends to return to Solo, said he had to compete with many other would-be passengers when buying tickets.