Rush on trains to peak on Friday

Rush on trains to peak on Friday

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned railway company Perumka
expects the number of train passengers leaving Jakarta for
Christmas and New Year holidays in their hometowns to peak on
Friday.

Perumka spokesman Bambang Waluyojati said yesterday that the
railway company predicts the total number of passengers will
reach 126,841 on the busiest day.

"We learned from our experience during Idul Fitri early this
year that the number of passengers would climax two or three days
before the holidays," said Bambang.

"With the government's decision to enact five working days a
week for employers in Jakarta, Friday will most probably be the
peak day," he added. The similar exodus at year-end holidays
climaxed on Dec. 24 last year.

Bambang said the number of passengers within the next two
weeks will rise by 54 percent from regular days and five percent
from the figure in 1993 year-end holidays.

Perumka started operating extra trains on Sunday and expects
to operate them until Jan. 11 next year. The company has added 50
carriages to its regular 715 to accommodate over 100,000
passengers departing from five stations in the capital city
everyday during the holiday season.

The extended services, however, manages only to provide
71,218 seats per day. "It means almost 50 percent of the
passengers won't be seated," said Bambang, adding that the number
of standing passengers would nearly double on Friday.

"However, we usually reserve a carriage for those who fail
to get seats on the peak day," he said.

Bambang admitted that a number of delays over the schedules
are inevitable during the holiday season. "Everybody prefers to
have a night trip. The number of delays can be reduced if some of
them are willing to travel in the daylight," he said.

Perumka has also anticipated that there will be two
returning influxes on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31.

Meanwhile, in Gambir station, all seat tickets on trains
bound for Semarang, Yogyakarta and Surakarta for Thursday,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were sold out since last weekend.
(amd)