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View all search resultsBanten train car smooths passage for farmers and traders
A specially designed car for trains plying the Rangkasbitung-Merak route is easing the daily grind for small-scale traders who keep the economy rolling, cutting their hour-long commute to just 10 minutes with a comfy, roomy ride.
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Special courtesy: Train attendant J.S. Suparmin (right) asks passengers to show their passenger cards in the Farmer and Trader Car of a Rangkasbitung-Merak train on Feb. 17, 2026, after they boarded at Rangkasbitung Station in Lebak regency, Banten. (JP/Nur Janti)
F
ive women sat loosely on the platform at Rangkasbitung Station in Lebak regency, Banten, chatting with sacks and cardboard boxes at their feet. They had just finished their morning shopping at Rangkasbitung Market, just 500 meters away, and were now waiting to go home on the Commuter Line heading to Merak in Cilegon, covering a distance of over 70 kilometers.
Among them were Maryam, 55, who runs a chicken noodle and meatball stall, and Ratniati, 58, a vegetable vendor. Nearly every day, they commute 8 km between Jambu Baru Station and Rangkasbitung Station to restock.
For years, this meant squeezing into crowded public minibuses for a journey with multiple stops that could take close to an hour in unfavorable traffic. Now it takes only 10 minutes.
The welcome change began on Dec. 1, when PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), the subsidiary of state railway company KAI that operates the Commuter Line service, launched a dedicated car for farmers and traders on each train plying the Rangkasbitung-Merak route.
The special car, called Kereta Petani dan Pedagang (Farmers and Traders Train) was redesigned to accommodate them: The doors were widened from 800 to 900 millimeters and the partition walls were removed. The number of seats was reduced to 73 and rearranged in single rows beneath the windows facing inward, creating a wide central aisle where passengers can set down sacks of chilies, bundles of greens and boxes of dry goods without blocking the way.
Passengers may carry a maximum of two packages, each measuring no more than 100 × 40 × 30 centimeters. Livestock, sharp weapons, flammable materials and goods with strong odors are prohibited.
It is starkly different from a regular commuter car, which packs rows of two to three seats facing each other, separated by a narrow aisle that allows only one person to pass at a time.
