To Avoid Traffic Congestion, Travellers Choose Train for Journey Home
Jakarta — Several travellers are opting to use public train transportation to return to their hometowns in order to avoid the traffic congestion that frequently occurs on the exodus routes during the Eid holiday migration.
A traveller from Kebumen District, Central Java, named Andri, speaking in Jakarta on Monday, stated that for this Eid celebration he chose to use the train to return to his hometown.
“If I take the train, it takes at most five hours. But if I take a private vehicle, based on my experience last year, it could take up to 18 hours,” he said.
He admitted that this was his first time using the train, as previously he had always driven his private vehicle to his hometown in Kebumen District, Central Java.
According to him, his choice to use the train was because public transportation is faster and allows him to avoid congestion, especially during the Eid holiday migration period.
He stated that he had previously used a private vehicle to travel home, and during the exodus period, the journey could take up to 18 hours, which was exhausting.
“Especially now that I’m bringing a small child, so I prefer to use the train,” he said.
Another traveller from Solo, Central Java, named Yuni, admitted that she has become accustomed to using the train to return home because it is more comfortable during the journey.
In addition, trains are also not trapped in congestion even during the Eid holiday migration period. “However, one must make extra effort to obtain tickets, as they must be booked well in advance,” she said.
Previously, Franoto Wibowo, Public Relations Manager of Indonesian Railways (KAI) Daop 1 Jakarta, stated that the total number of passengers departing from all stations in the Daop 1 Jakarta region, including Pasar Senen, Gambir, Bekasi, Cikampek, Cikarang, Jatinegara, and Karawang, until Monday (16 March) afternoon had reached 51,584 people, with 23,939 passengers arriving.
The volume of passenger departures and arrivals today was lower compared to the previous day, which saw 52,008 departures and 26,935 arrivals.
During this year’s Eid transportation period, which runs from 11 March to 1 April 2026, KAI has provided a total seating capacity of 1,076,196 seats.
“A total of 719,988 tickets have been sold or booked. The average occupancy rate is currently approximately 67 per cent,” said Franoto.
Franoto noted that the highest sales period occurred between 11–20 March (Eid exodus/pre-Eid period) with a total of 468,795 tickets sold or booked by the public.
The dates with the highest sales were 14 March with 51,128 tickets, 15 March (52,008 tickets), 16 March (51,584 tickets), then 17 March (49,557 tickets), 18 March (49,507 tickets), 19 March (49,203 tickets), and 20 March (49,219 tickets).