Parahyangan train

Parahyangan train

From Media Indonesia

At 5 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2002, my wife and child traveled by Parahyangan train from Bandung to Jakarta. Racing against time, my family had only obtained tickets at the normal price without reserved seats. Unfortunately, they were treated inhumanely aboard, being chased by a train's stewardess as if they were illegal passengers. Standing in a passageway of the train, they were asked to transfer to another carriage. Then, they were asked again to move, the reason given that they disturbed the view.

Finally, my family were placed in a connecting area between the train's carriages near a restroom. Seeing quite a big gap between the carriages, which produced a creaking sound, my child got scared and became hysterical. My wife then looked for another place in the dining car, which was also full of train passengers who were unable to get a seat. My family were then forced to return to the previous place after renting a pillow from a train officer, which is usually free of charge, to cover the opening.

Are this the kind of service the state-owned railway company PT KAI provides for its users? If there are no more seats, why does the company still sell the tickets, making its passengers suffer? I call on PT KAI to improve its management to ensure that the company' employees give satisfactory service to train users.

DWIEKO S.

Bekasi, West Java