Train tickets sold out for certain cities, dates

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Train tickets to several major cities in Central Java and East Java, as well as those to Yogyakarta, are sold out, especially those departing this weekend, as Jakartans prepare to return to their hometowns for the upcoming Idul Fitri holidays. Idul Fitri falls on Dec. 6 and 7 this year.

The ticket reservation center of state-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) on Jl. Djuanda, Central Jakarta, was packed by would-be passengers on Monday, although officials expected passenger reservations to peak on Tuesday.

"We provide about 4,000 seats from 13 executive trains to Malang, Semarang, Surabaya, Surakarta and Yogyakarta every day," the center's manager, Boman, told reporters.

"But several trains are already sold out for certain dates, especially those offering cheaper tickets," he added.

Records from the reservation center show that residents prefer to take executive trains rather than PT KAI's top-of-the-line first class Argo trains.

"Most of the executive trains cost less than Rp 200,000 (US$22.20), while the Argo trains cost more than that," said Boman.

"The passengers refuse when we offer them the Argo trains, saying that the tickets are too expensive."

Plying the route from Jakarta's Gambir Station to Surabaya's Pasar Turi Station, Argo Bromo Anggrek tickets cost Rp 285,000 for executive class and Rp 250,000 for business class, while Gumarang tickets cost only Rp 185,000 and Rp 85,000 for executive class and business class, respectively.

There are two other trains serving the Jakarta-Surabaya route: the Bima travels from Gambir to Gubeng Station with a fare of Rp 200,000, and the Sembrani travels from Kota Station to Pasar Turi with a cost of Rp 185,000 per seat.

All tickets for the Gumarang train departing between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2 are sold out, while tickets for Dec. 3 will start selling on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, tickets for the Bima and Sembrani trains are sold out for departures on Nov. 28, and from Nov. 30 until Dec.2.

Tickets for the Taksaka I connecting Gambir Station and Yogyakarta are sold out for Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, while Taksaka II is sold out for the Nov. 28, Nov. 29, Dec. 1, and Dec. 2 departure dates. The Taksaka I leaves at 7:03 a.m., and Taksaka II leaves at 8:20 p.m.

"We expect Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 to be the peak of departures during this year's Idul Fitri holiday season, so we expect customers to cram our office on Tuesday and Wednesday (this week) to purchase their tickets," said Boman.

In an effort to discourage ticket scalpers, PT KAI tightened the ticket purchasing procedure at its reservation center two years ago. The procedures were tightened even more this year, under which people must provide their queuing number with thumbprint identification in order to purchase tickets. This system ensures that only those individuals who have queued may buy tickets.

Meanwhile, Zainal Abidin, spokesman of PT KAI's Jakarta division, said a command post had been set up at Gambir Station to monitor activities at all stations in Jakarta.

"So far, we have not yet experienced a surge in the number of train passengers. We expect it to peak on Dec. 3," he said.

He also said that although almost all tickets for regular trains had sold out, PT KAI will operate an additional 29 special service trains several days before and after the Idul Fitri holiday.

Statistics show there were 846,791 train passengers in 2001, and 835,826 passengers in 2000. This year, train passengers are expected to increase by about three percent.