Train tickets for Idul Fitri exodus already on sale

LEBARAN - JAKARTA. State-owned railway operator PT KAI is letting homebound Idul Fitri travelers reserve train tickets starting Monday, to anticipate a passenger surge ahead of the holiday from June 5 to 6.

Tickets for May 26 went on sale Monday, tickets for May 27 will be on sale Tuesday, and so on.

Travelers can reserve tickets online through www.kai.id and KAI’s official mobile app KAI Access. The company predicted that the peak of the homebound exodus would fall on May 29, which means that tickets will go on sale on Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, the peak of the return influx will be on June 9, three days after the holiday.

During the Idul Fitri holiday period, KAI will operate 406 trains, a 3 percent increase from the same period last year, when the operators deployed 393 trains.

The service will be able to carry 247,010 passengers per day.

Travelers are urged to immediately arrange their holiday plans to ensure ticket availability, KAI president director Edi Sukmoro said.

After booking their tickets online, customers will have 60 minutes to pay.

“We also warn customers to only purchase tickets through our official channels and distributors to avoid fraud and unreasonable prices,” he said in a statement.