PT KAI president director Edi Sukmoro said reservations for the Christmas and New Year period opened on Nov. 19 and would close on Jan. 5, 2020. 

“We expect Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 to be the most popular dates for train travel,” Edi said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday. 

Tickets for long-distance trains can be purchased from PT KAI official ticket merchants, such as through the KAI Access mobile app and its website, kai.id. 

Meanwhile, tickets for short-distance train travel can be purchased seven days prior to departure through PT KAI official merchants or three hours prior to departure at the nearest train station.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays, the company will operate 404 trains comprising  374 regular trains and 30 additional trains. The number has been increased 2.5 percent from last year. In 2018, PT KAI operated 394 trains comprising 346 regular trains and 48 additional trains for the same holiday period.

Aside from increasing the number of trains, PT KAI has also increased the seat capacity from 240,162 in 2018 to 250,012 seats in 2019 to anticipate an increased number of passengers.

To help with railway security over the holidays, 11,191 joint force officers - including police and military personnel - will be deployed. The company has also assigned 1,740 officers to safeguard the railway and railway crossings.

"We have requested PT KAI employees postpone their year-end leave to serve customers," Edi said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He added that commissioners and directors of PT KAI as well as high-ranking officials of the Transportation Ministry and the National Police would inspect several stations on Dec. 10 to 12 to monitor preparations for the year-end holidays. (dpk)