KAI director of logistics and development Bambang Eko Martono said his company combined three existing train systems — Kamandaka, Joglokerto and Kalijaga — for the Joglosemarkerto route.

“Passengers wanted the routes to be connected, so we delivered,” he said during the inauguration ceremony at the Solo Balapan railway station in Surakarta, Central Java, on Saturday. Before the new service was launched, the routes were fragmented.

A case in point, commuters who wanted to get from Semarang, the capital of Central Java, to Yogyakarta would have to switch trains in Surakarta, which could add up to an hour in waiting time for a four-hour train ride.

Bambang said each of the three Joglosemarkerto trains would have nine cars consisting of two 50-seat executive cars (Rp 140,000 to 170,000 per seat) and seven 80-seat economy cars (Rp 80,000 to 100,000 per seat).

He said the company was offering a 10 percent discount on train tickets from Dec. 1 to 13 for the promotion of the new service.

He added the train was also a means of “increasing land transportation options” for commuters moving between cities in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Should the majority of commuters continue to use private vehicles, congestion on intercity roads would worsen, as the number of roads grows at a rate of 1 percent each year, while the number of privately owned vehicles, thanks largely to the availability of cheap auto loans, grows at a yearly rate of 10 percent.

Furthermore, Central Java is the third-most motorized province with 15.2 million motorized vehicles last year while Yogyakarta is 11th with 2.5 million.

The new trains will also promote sustainable transportation in Java, decreasing air pollution and pushing local administrations to develop proper sidewalks in their cities or, at the very least, near train stations.

KAI operational region (Daop) 6 Yogyakarta public relations manager Eko Budiyanto said the new train would, however, change the base station for the Jaka Tingkir train from Purwosari Station in Surakarta to Lempuyangan Station in Yogyakarta. The Jaka Tingkir train serves the Yogyakarta-Jakarta route.

PT KAI Daop 4 Semarang executive vice president Yosita said the new train was also expected to transport people to and from Yogyakarta and Central Java cities and regencies, such as Semarang, Surakarta, Kroya, Purwokerto, Tegal and Pekalongan.

Similarly, provincial administrations have been working to boost tourism by promoting Javanese cultural heritage and ecotourist sites such as Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta and Mount Lawu in Surakarta.

“We expect the new train will allow tourists with limited vacation time to visit more regions and more tourist sites,” he said. (nor)

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