Cepu Station Becomes the Gateway to Blora's Potential: Customers Grow by 22.90 Percent
PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) noted that Cepu Station is becoming increasingly important as a mobility hub for the community in Blora Regency and its surrounding areas. Located at one of the strategic points along Java's northern line, Cepu Station serves as a meeting point for travel needs, work activities, education, trade, and local tourism.
Throughout January–May 2026, Cepu Station served 138,786 boarding customers. This number represents a 22.03 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025, which saw 113,736 customers. During the same period, alighting customers at Cepu Station reached 142,920 passengers, an increase of 23.76 percent compared to January–May 2025 with 115,482 customers.
Combined, the total number of boarding and alighting customers at Cepu Station reached 281,706 passengers throughout January–May 2026. This figure grew by 22.90 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, which recorded 229,218 customers.
Vice President of Corporate Communication at KAI, Anne Purba, stated that this growth demonstrates that Cepu Station plays an increasingly vital role in supporting community mobility and regional economic activities.
“Cepu illustrates how a single station can become a meeting point for work, education, trade, and tourism. KAI maintains Cepu Station as a reliable access point for the people of Blora and surrounding areas so that regional economic activities become further connected with other cities on Java Island,”
The character of Cepu makes this growth even more strategic. According to the publication Cepu Subdistrict in Figures 2025 released by BPS (Statistics Indonesia) of Blora Regency, the population of Cepu Subdistrict in 2024 reached 77,272 people. From the age group table, the population aged 15–64 years totaled 53,537 people, indicating that Cepu has a strong productive population base to support work commutes, education, business, and family economics.
The name Cepu is also deeply intertwined with national oil and gas history. PPSDM Migas refers to the Cepu Refinery as the oldest refinery in Indonesia and one of the facilities for education and human resource training in the oil and gas sector. The institution also possesses laboratories and workshops to support competency development in the upstream, downstream, and supporting sectors of oil and gas.
Beyond oil and gas, Cepu and Blora also possess potential in forestry and agricultural produce. Perhutani noted that the KPH (Forest Management Unit) Cepu falls under the teak company class with a production forest covering 33,017.09 hectares. Meanwhile, BPS data shows that horticultural production in Cepu Subdistrict in 2024 included 111.5 quintals of cayenne pepper, 120 quintals of melon, and 80 quintals of shallots.
According to Anne, the presence of railways provides significant value to regions with economic characteristics like Cepu. Scheduled mobility helps workers, students, MSME (UMKM) actors, traders, families, and tourists reach various activity centers more efficiently.
“When railway access becomes easier, the public has more travel options. Local business actors can move more flexibly, workers and students have more reliable access, while tourists can reach regional destinations more comfortably,”
In terms of service, Cepu Station is also a crucial point for local, agglomeration, and intercity travel. The station is served by KA Blora Jaya on the Semarang Poncol–Cepu route and the Blorasura Commuter Line on the Surabaya Pasar Turi–Cepu route, alongside several intercity train journeys along Java's northern line.
This connectivity also opens access to various local attractions. One of them is the Heritage Trainz Loco Tour in the Perhutani KPH Cepu area, a heritage tourism site that stems from the history of a locomotive depot and an old rail network built during the colonial era. The Blora Regency Government notes that the Heritage Loco Tour is managed by Perhutani KPH Cepu and is located on Jl. Sorogo, Cepu.
“KAI wants the customer growth in Cepu to have an impact on a broader economic space. We will continue to maintain Cepu Station as a safe, comfortable service hub that is relevant to community needs, while supporting Blora's potential from the local level to cross-regional lines,”
VP of Corporate Communication at KAI