Book Now, 65,227 Train Tickets Still Available at Daop 3 Cirebon

CIREBON, KOMPAS — As many as 65,227 seats are still available at PT Kereta Api Indonesia Operations Area 3 Cirebon ahead of the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year holidays. Prospective passengers are advised to book tickets immediately because ticket purchases are still often made close to departure times.

During the Christmas and New Year holiday transportation period from December 18, 2024 to January 5, 2025, PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon operates seven trains with a capacity of 80,816 seats. The trains include three Argo Cheribon trains with the Gambir-Cirebon Station route and vice versa.

The other three trains are the Kaligung train with two of them on the Brebes-Semarang Poncol route and one serving the Cirebon Prujakan-Semarang Poncol route. Another train is the Ranggajati train on the Cirebon-Jember route. A number of these trains depart from and go to Daop 3 Cirebon.

As of Monday (23/12/2024) at 10:00 WIB, 15,589 or 19.3 percent of tickets from a total of 80,816 seats have been sold. This means that there are still 65,227 seats or around 80.7 percent that can be booked by prospective passengers. Tens of thousands of tickets are spread across almost all trains.

However, the Ranggajati train tickets to Jember are almost sold out because the occupancy rate has reached 90.9 percent. In fact, on Tuesday (12/24/2024) and Wednesday, the train ticket sales have reached 97 percent and 100 percent. Ticket sales for the next three days have also exceeded 50 percent.

Meanwhile, the availability of tickets on the other six trains is still relatively high. Only KA Argo Cheribon Number 23 on the Cirebon-Gambir route has an occupancy rate of 54 percent. The rest, on other trains, the ticket booking rate is still below 50 percent.

Public Relations Manager of PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon Rokhmad Makin Zainul appealed to prospective passengers to immediately book train tickets. "The pattern of ticket purchases in Cirebon is usually sudden, around D-2 to D-1 before departure. So, ticket availability can change quickly," he said.

Vice President of PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon Mohamad Arie Fathurrocman said the number of passengers buying tickets before departure cannot be predicted. He reminded residents to immediately order tickets via the Access by KAI application or official sales locations.

Moreover, PT KAI predicts that the peak of passenger density in Daop 3 Cirebon will occur on Monday and Tuesday. However, the wave of density of residents using trains is predicted to continue on Sunday (29/12/2024) or before the New Year.

Arie said, PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon has prepared a number of anticipatory steps for passenger density at the station. In total, there are 308 joint officers, from the special railway police, Polri, and TNI, who are on standby at the station and train tracks. Paramedics and doctors are also on guard at large stations, such as Cirebon Station.

"In anticipation of the rainy season and extreme weather, we have normalized water channels, removed mud, and strengthened soil retaining walls in locations prone to subsidence," said Arie. PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon also prepared material equipment for standby (amus) at 17 points to anticipate disasters.

Aldi Agung (26), a passenger on the Fajar Utama train from Cirebon to Yogyakarta, hopes that the train journey will be smooth and safe. Together with his wife, this private worker chose to use the train because it is more comfortable and on time.

"Buying tickets is still very easy, because I ordered a month ago. The price is also still right, around Rp 450,000 per person," said Aldi who bought an executive ticket.

The pattern of ticket purchases in Cirebon is usually sudden, around D-2 to D-1 before departure. So, ticket availability can change quickly.