JAKARTA. State railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) will increase the number of passenger seats by 2.1 percent during this year’s seasonal exodus, when millions of Muslims travel to their hometowns for Idulfitri in June.
KAI president director Edi Sukmoro told reporters on Wednesday that the firm would provide 222,014 seats per day from June 15 to July 6 — 10 days before and 10 days after Idulfitri — for railway trips in Java and Sumatra.
Idulfitri is expected to be celebrated on June 25 this year.
Because the number of passengers will likely increase by 13,128 for Idulfitri this year, KAI will schedule 331 regular trips with a total capacity of 200,154 seats per day, plus 38 additional trips with 21,860 seats per day, Edi said.
“We can operate more additional trips if the number of passenger is higher than expected,” Edi said.
The firm will deploy 2,950 extra workers as route supervisors, crossing guards and other officials and 4,223 security personnel across Java and Sumatra during the exodus period, he added.
Muslims living away from their hometowns have an annual tradition of traveling home to celebrate Idulfitri with their families.
According to KAI data, 5.4 million people traveled by train during the 2016 Idulfitri exodus. (yon/bbn)
