After his then-girlfriend moved with her family from Yogyakarta to Surakarta, Tevin, who lives in Tempel, Sleman, Yogyakarta, rode the train almost every week to meet her.

“Between 2017 and 2018, I rode the [Prameks] every weekend to visit her or went to pick her up from the station whenever she came to visit me. My love was just a Prameks ride away,” Tevin told The Jakarta Post.

He is one of many commuters who have memories of the Prameks, which began connecting Yogyakarta and Surakarta in 1994. Making eight stops, the train departed from Tugu Station in Yogyakarta and ended at Solo Balapan Station in Surakarta – and vice versa.

The line was extended to Kutoarjo, Central Java, in 2000.

After more than two decades of service, the railway’s operator replaced the diesel-powered train with an electric commuter line train on Feb. 10. The new commuter train is similar to those that operate in Greater Jakarta.

The Prameks will still serve passengers along the Yogyakarta-Kutoarjo route.

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Matias Sri Aditya, a 30-year-old UX writer who lives in Ngaglik, Sleman, still recalls the first time he rode a Prameks train, to visit his grandmother in Surakarta in 2005.

“The ticket was made of simple cardboard. We needed to have it stamped by the station officer. There was no air conditioning in the car, and it only had fans, so they had to keep the doors wide open to let the air flow,” he said.

State-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia has changed the rolling stock for the Prameks several times. From 1994 to 2006, the Prameks used cars from the Senja Utama Solo intercity train pulled by a diesel locomotive.

In March 2006, the operator installed a diesel-powered train built by state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api. The cars’ interiors were also improved and given air conditioning.

It was on these improved Prameks cars that Matias would visit his girlfriend in 2018. He said he typically rode the morning train to Surakarta and took the last train home to Yogyakarta.

“I usually got on the train at Tugu Station and disembarked at Solo Balapan Station,” Matias said. “However, I stopped riding the trains because of the pandemic and have been using private vehicles instead.”

Electric commuter line connecting Yogyakarta and Surakarta passes through Lempuyangan, Yogyakarta on Feb. 4. The electric commuter line replaces the Prambanan Ekspres (Prameks) train to serve commuter between the two cities. (Antara/Hendra Nurdiyansyah)

According to commuter train operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), 14,348 passengers rode the new Yogyakarta to Surakarta commuter train from Feb. 10 to 14.

There are 22 trips along the line each day, with two eight-car and two four-car trains. The line serves 13 stations between Tugu Station and Solo Balapan Station, including a small, old station in Klaten, a little town in Central Java. Many have lauded the commuter train service because it allows residents of Klaten to commute easily.

KCI spokeswoman Anne Purba said the train operator hoped the electric commuter train would encourage people to use more environmentally friendly modes of public transportation.

She added that the shift from the Prameks would force most passengers to adapt to new systems, such as using multitrip cards or electronic payment cards issued by banks. During the Prameks era, passengers had to purchase single-trip tickets at the station.

While many consider the shift practical, some Prameks regulars see it as an impediment to their commutes.

Tri, 22, said the new system had caused her to wait in line for two hours, as many passengers had problems tapping their cards to open the turnstile.

“The passengers weren’t ready for this tap-in system like the one in Jakarta. This system made it uncertain whether I could catch the next train or not because there were too many passengers in the station,” she said.

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Tri added that she was afraid of contracting COVID-19 standing in crowds of strangers at the station and on the train. She later decided to return to Yogyakarta by bus.

“When I heard the Prameks was going to be replaced by commuter trains, I hoped the system would make things easier. But it just made things worse,” Tri added.

Noor Harsya Aryosamodro, the head of a Prameks passenger community called Paguyuban Pramekers, said most of the community members welcomed the new train, hoping it would provide a better commuting experience.