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)