Train use up in this year’s exodus

JAKARTA. The number of rail passengers in Greater Jakarta increased by 17 percent during this year’s annual Idul Fitri exodus, an official with the state-owned railway operator PT KAI said on Monday.

“Last year, about 892,514 passengers took our executive, business and economy class trains during mudik. This year, the number increased to 1,444,504 passengers,” said PT KAI director Ignasius Jonan, adding that the trains could carry up to 100,000 passengers a day from August 1-11.

He said he believed the passenger increase had occurred because PT KAI had improved its infrastructure and services.

“Since 2012, we have installed air conditioners in all our executive, business and economy class trains,” he said.

He added that in the last two years, the company had sold its tickets online and in mini-markets like Indomaret and Alfamart, so passengers no longer had to queue in overcrowded ticket booths.

PT KAI spokesman Sukendar Mulya said the company had also deployed security guards to maintain train security and order during the exodus and that it would improve its infrastructure to attract more passengers in the future. (The Jakarta Post)