"For this year, the transportation period for Christmas and New Year has been made effective for 18 days. It begins on December 19, 2019, and ends on January 5, 2020," Executive Vice President of PT KAI's Jakarta Operational Area I, Dadan Rudiansyah, said.
To meet the needs of passengers during the upcoming holiday season, PT KAI has also readied facilities and human resources to ensure smooth and safe journeys.
PT KAI's Jakarta Operational Area I will also operate 13 additional trains for this year's Christmas and New Year's Eve. Eight of them would depart from Gambir Station, while five others would leave from Pasar Senen Station, Rudiansyah said.
During this holiday season, the trips would be undertaken by trains such as Argo Sindoro (62F) for Gambir-Semarang Tawang, Taksaka (98F) for Gambir-Yogyakarta, Argo Dwipangga (60F) for Gambir-Solo, and Argo Muria (64F) for Gambir-Semarang Tawang.
The train operator will provide 73,002 seats per day, he said, adding that the volume of passengers is predicted to increase to 103.6 percent compared to last year, when the total number of passengers was recorded at 70,426 people.
"The number of train passengers departing to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve is expected to reach its peak on December 21," Rudiansyah said.
In 2018, Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, revealed that PT KAI operated 444 locomotives, one spare locomotive unit, 1,637 train units, and 218 spare train units.
PT KAI operated 346 regular train trips and 48 additional train trips to serve people who were keen to use railroad services during the year-end holiday period.
For 2018, the total number of trains ready to serve the community during the Christmas period was 394. This number increased by five percent compared to the 2017 Christmas period, when it was 375 trains (335 regular trains and 40 additional trains).
Related news: 70 percent train tickets for Christmas season already sold
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Translator: M.Ali K, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
