Rail Passenger Numbers Surge in January 2026 as Air and Sea Travel Decline

Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of railway passengers reached 48.10 million people in January 2026.

Ateng Hartono, Deputy for Distribution and Services at the Central Statistics Agency, stated that the figure represented a 10.94 per cent increase compared with January 2025.

“In January 2026, the number of railway transport passengers reached 48.10 million people,” said Ateng at a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Monday, 23 February 2026.

Meanwhile, the number of domestic aircraft passenger departures declined 3.33 per cent to 4.92 million people.

A decline also occurred in domestic maritime transport, falling to 2.61 million people or decreasing 0.55 per cent.

Passengers on River, Lake and Ferry Transport (ASDP) recorded a drop of 3.67 per cent to 4.29 million people.

BPS noted that the volume of goods transported by sea vessel also fell 1.05 per cent to 37.49 million tonnes compared with January of the previous year.

Besides vessels, the volume of goods transported by railway also fell 7.90 per cent to 5.33 million tonnes.

“The volume of goods transported by domestic air transport was recorded at 53.0 thousand tonnes or fell 13.01 per cent compared with January 2025,” said Ateng.

Based on a report from the Ministry of Transport, approximately 17.18 million people were estimated to participate in year-end exodus travel on the peak day of 24 December 2025.

The peak return flow occurred on 2 January with the movement of 20.81 million people.