Train Passenger Numbers Plummeted During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Every September 28th, Indonesia commemorates National Railway Day. Seventy-seven years ago, on this date, the takeover of railway stations and headquarters controlled by Japan occurred, marking a historic day for the nation's railway system.

Trains are one of the most widely used land transportation modes by the public, especially in the Java region. This is because not all areas are served by rail transport due to limited infrastructure.

Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the number of train passengers showed growth throughout the 2015-2019 period, as seen in the graph.

In 2015, the number of train passengers was 325 million and increased to 428 million in 2019. The average number of train passengers increased by 7.8% per year.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a sharp drop in train passengers by 56.51%, to only 186.13 million passengers in 2020. The implementation of restrictions on community social activities to curb the spread of the coronavirus reduced public mobility.

Similarly, in 2021, the number of train passengers decreased again by 19.54%, to only 149.76 million passengers. Prolonged policies restricting community social activities and passenger quotas caused a further decrease in passenger numbers.

From January to July 2022, the number of train passengers reached 142.9 million. This number represents 95.42% of the previous year's passenger count.

The following are the number of train passengers from January to July 2022:

Total: 142.90 million passengers

* Jabodetabek: 111.48 million passengers
* Non-Jabodetabek (Java): 29.00 million passengers
* Sumatra: 2.43 million passengers