Perumka launches new railway cars

Perumka launches new railway cars

JAKARTA (JP): To improve its service during the Idul Fitri holidays, the state-owned railway company Perumka launched new railway cars yesterday to be used for an economy-class train serving the route between Jakarta and Kutoarjo in Central Java.

The new service, called Sawunggalih, was symbolically inaugurated by the chairman of Commission V of the House of Representatives, Achmadi, at Senen Railway Station in Central Jakarta, yesterday. The launching ceremony was attended by Director General of Land Transportation Soejono, Perumka's president, Soemino Eko Saputro, and members of the commission, which deals with transportation and tourism affairs.

Soemino said that Sawunggalih got ten new cars from the state- owned railway equipment producer, PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka), which is based in Madiun, East Java.

He said that each one of the cars cost Rp 950 million (approximately US$410,000).

The new service departs from Senen station at 2.15 p.m. and reaches Kutoarjo station within seven hours.

According to Soemino, the train could run at its maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, but it was only allowed to run at about 80 percent to 85 percent of the maximum speed.

All of the cars were fitted with equipment similar to that used for Argo Bromo and Argo Gede, the first-class express trains introduced last year.

Perumka will operate Sawunggalih just to cope with the increasing number of passengers during the Idul Fitri holiday until early March. The new train will then serve the Jakarta- Semarang route.

The fare for a seat at Sawunggalih is Rp 9,000 ($3.88). However, passengers buying tickets yesterday and today will get a 10-percent discount.

Perumka offers a 15 percent discount for economy fares between Feb. 6 and Feb. 12 and between Feb. 29 and March 6. A 10 percent discount is available on Feb. 13, 14, 15, 26, 27 and 26. The railway firm is offering this discount in the hope that passengers will not rush to railway stations on the peak days. This year's Idul Fitri falls on Feb. 20.

Soemino said yesterday that for this year's Idul Fitri holiday, his company would operate 26 additional services.

"Starting from D-day minus seven and going to D-day plus ten, Perumka's railway trains will have a total capacity of 163,128 passengers per day, which indicates a 23.2 percent increase from the 132,370-passenger capacity during last year's Idul Fitri holiday," he said.

"This year, we have also prepared 236 locomotives and 950 cars. For people's convenience, we're opening ticket-windows 24 hours but have temporarily terminated ticket sales at travel agents."

Soemino also told the legislators that his company was targeting a total profit of Rp 12.5 billion this year after netting Rp 10.53 billion in profits in 1995.

Perumka's revenues last year reached Rp 337.18 billion, of which 53 percent was derived from its first-class and executive- class services.

Perumka, which transported 129.33 million customers in 1995, were predicting 133.54 million passengers this year and some 216.26 million in the year 2000.

93 percent of the passengers carried in 1995 were economy- class passengers, including those of the Jakarta greater area, while the remaining seven percent were first-class and executive passengers. (icn)