I had to order tickets long before Ramadhan."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Senen Station, one of Jakarta`s main train stations, remained crowded on the second day of the Idul Fitri holiday on Saturday with travelers seeking to return to their home villages or towns for the holiday.
On Saturday, the number of passengers at the station reached 18,000, which was equal to that during the peak period seven days before the end of the fasting month.
Several passengers said they could only leave on the second day of the holiday because they were unable to purchase tickets during the peak period.
Andre, who was traveling to Yogyakarta, said it was very difficult to find tickets in the days before Lebaran, the end of the fasting month, because the train no longer provided tickets without seats, so, "I had to order tickets long before Ramadhan."
Others had deliberately decided to leave on the second day to avoid congestion at the station.
Sumiati, who is heading to Tegal, said that she had deliberately decided to travel on the second day of Lebaran in order to avoid waiting in a long queue when buying tickets at the station.
"I could not bear involving my children in the jostling for tickets at the counter during the fasting month. But it turned out that the situation now is still the same," she said.
"The number of passengers today is still recorded at around 18,000, similar to that during the days before," state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia Operations Area I spokesman Sukendar Mulya said.
He noted that PT KAI plans to operate 20 regular trains, along with nine additional trains, to several cities in Java such as Tegal, Semarang, Yogyakarta in Central Java and Surabaya in East Java.
Regarding the return period, Sukendar said he predicted the peak would be on Sunday, which is the end of the government-sanctioned mass holiday.
(T.G005/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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