Five Months in Operation, KA Sangkuriang Serves 330,000 Customers on the Bandung–Ketapang Route

PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) recorded 330.186 customers using KA Sangkuriang throughout May–September 2026. The Bandung–Ketapang (round trip) service has become one of the inter-island travel options that has received a strong response since it began operating on May 1, 2026.

Customer numbers for KA Sangkuriang were recorded at 61.078 in May, 70.399 in June, 67.620 in July, 68.974 in August, and 62.115 in September 2026. Thus, during its first five months of operation, KA Sangkuriang served more than 330.000 customer journeys.

Vice President Corporate Communication KAI Anne Purba said the high usage of KA Sangkuriang indicates the development of a travel market along the corridor served by the train.

“KA Sangkuriang serves a 1,002-kilometer journey with diverse customer profiles. Some travel from Bandung to Yogyakarta or Solo, others travel to Surabaya and Jember, while some continue their journeys to Banyuwangi. This pattern shows that train travel is growing across many segments of the cities along the route,” said Anne.

KA Sangkuriang serves the Bandung–Ketapang (round trip) route and began operating from Bandung on May 1, 2026, while the journey from Ketapang to Bandung began the following day. This corridor provides direct travel from West Java to the easternmost part of Java through the southern and eastern routes of Java Island.

The Sangkuriang route passes through various centers of community activity and tourist areas, including Tasikmalaya, Ciamis, Yogyakarta, Solo, Madiun, Surabaya, Jember, Banyuwangi, and Ketapang. The availability of a single direct journey allows mobility between these areas without customers having to change trains on the Bandung–Banyuwangi journey.

According to Anne, these characteristics make KA Sangkuriang interesting in terms of mobility patterns between urban areas and tourism travel. From Greater Bandung and Priangan, its route connects with the Yogyakarta–Solo area, Madiun, Greater Surabaya, the Tapal Kuda region, and Banyuwangi, each of which has a different travel market.

“One Sangkuriang train set can serve many travel patterns at once. Customers can board and alight at various segments along the route. Therefore, the benefits of this service are felt in connections between cities along the route, including for family trips, economic activities, education, work, and tourism,” said Anne.

Customer response is also reflected in KA Sangkuriang’s occupancy rate. Based on performance from July–September 2026, KA Sangkuriang train number 7044A recorded an average occupancy rate of 240.53 percent, the highest among featured trains to and from Bandung during that period. Its occupancy rate reached around 251 percent in July, 244 percent in August, and 227 percent in September 2026.

During the 2026 school holiday period, the service’s occupancy rate even reached 284 percent. Occupancy figures above 100 percent result from customers changing along various travel segments. One seat can be used by different customers after the previous customer alights at their destination station, so the figure does not mean the number of customers inside the train exceeds the seating capacity at the same time.

“The occupancy figures show the strength of partial journeys. This means Sangkuriang is active along its entire route. Passenger movement is not concentrated only between Bandung and Ketapang because customers also use the service for intercity travel across various segments along the route,” said Anne.

KA Sangkuriang also offers a fairly comprehensive range of services. Each journey provides 456 seats, consisting of 16 Compartment Suites seats, 200 Executive Class seats, and 240 Premium Economy seats.

For Compartment Suites, customers have a more private travel space with seats that can recline up to 180 degrees. Executive Class is available in four carriages with 50 seats each, while Premium Economy consists of three carriages with a capacity of 80 seats each.

Anne said this combination provides customers with a wide range of options for journeys of more than 1,000 kilometers.

“Some customers travel between cities for several hours, while others take long journeys all the way to East Java. We provide a choice of classes in one train set so customers can tailor their journeys to their needs and preferences,” said Anne.

KAI views the high usage of KA Sangkuriang during its first five months as an illustration of the significant travel potential that emerges when cities in West Java, Central Java, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, and East Java are connected within a single travel corridor. As early as the first half of 2026, KAI had recorded Sangkuriang as a direct service providing access from West Java to Banyuwangi via Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya, and other cities along the southern and eastern routes of Java.

“330.000 customers in five months show how one train service can facilitate many intercity journeys at once. Sangkuriang brings Bandung closer to cities along the southern and eastern parts of Java, while also opening up more options for people to travel and explore various destinations by train,” concluded Anne.

VP Corporate Communication KAI