KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung from Jakarta Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung by Train

KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung is a trunk commuter railway line from Jakarta Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung which has been fully electrified and double-tracked since 2017. Heading over to Merak for a full day of joyrides, I took KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung from Jakarta Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung before changing over to the KA Lokal Merak (now KAI Commuter Line Merak).

Jakarta Sudirman Railway Station

I started my journey from Jakarta Sudirman Railway Station near my hotel on the KAI Commuter Line Cikarang first.

Heading in to Sudirman Railway Station.

Tapping in to the KAI Commuter KRL system at Sudirman Railway Station.

While Sudirman Railway Station is in the central business district of Jakarta, the station layout is simple with just 2 side platforms on the double-tracked mainline.

The cladding on the station walls, however, is more modern.

A bit of train bunching this morning with KAI Commuter Line Cikarang trains 1 minute apart.

It was a full KAI Commuter Line Cikarang train arriving for me.

While many passengers alighted at Sudirman, many boarded too, which made the train still quite full.

Change at Tanah Abang for the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung.

Jakarta Tanah Abang Railway Station

Tanah Abang Railway Station is the terminus of the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung in Jakarta, accessed by TransJakarta buses or the KAI Commuter Line Cikarang.

As it is a major interchange station on the capacity-limited KAI Commuter Line Cikarang Racket, Tanah Abang Railway Station and trains get very crowded here.

Interchanging is also not as convenient as passengers must change platforms via bridges, and no cross-platform transfer is offered here.

Crossing the concourse to Platforms 5 and 6 for the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung.

Heading down to Platforms 5 and 6 for the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung.

The next train at Platform 6 is departing for Rangkasbitung.

Remember to check for the train destination as KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung trains may terminate at Serpong, Parung Panjang, or Tigaraksa.

Train destination is also available on the information LED panels on the platform.

Boarding the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung train to Rangkasbitung.

This 10-car JR 205 Series set has 6-door cars for cars 2 and 3, offering more passenger movement areas and lesser seats. Not ideal for long-distance travel.

The other cars have regular JR 205 Series layouts, which is more comfortable, but also not ideal for a 2-hour journey.

As I boarded just before departure, all seats were already taken up from Tanah Abang Railway Station.

The route map of KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung in green.

Despite being a weekday morning heading out of Jakarta, it was still crowded on the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung train.

As the crowds made photography difficult, I did not take much pictures on this leg of the journey.

The KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung stops at Palmerah, Kebayoran, Pondok Ranji, Jurangmangu, Sudimara, Rawabuntu, Serpong, Cisauk, Cicayur, Parung Panjang, Cilejit, Daru, Tenjo, Tigaraksa, Cikoya, Maja, and Citeras, en route to Rangkasbitung.

Crossing over the Cisadane River, the border between Kota Tangerang Selatan and Kabupaten Tangerang.

Making a brief stop at Parung Panjang Railway Station.

Most passengers had alighted by Parung Panjang Railway Station, which allows more passengers travelling onwards to get a seat from here on.

Heading along the outskirts to Banten province.

The scenery gets more rural as the train goes on.

Making a brief stop at Tigaraksa Railway Station.

Making a brief stop at Maja Railway Station.

Maja Railway Station was my former furthest ride on the line towards Merak many many years ago when the KRL first got extended to Maja. On this trip, I will be conquering the full line to Merak.

Making a brief stop at Citeras Railway Station.

The scenery gets more urbanised when approaching Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

Approaching Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

Rangkasbitung Railway Station

Arriving at Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

The journey on the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung from Jakarta Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung takes around 2 hours, depending on each individual train schedule.

Disembarking from the KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung train at Rangkasbitung.

My connecting Lokal Merak 426 was just across, but I couldn’t board it yet as I need to tap out of the KAI Commuter Line system to pay my fare and then check-in for the Lokal Merak 426.

Heading out of Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

There is a short transit path for KAI Commuter Line Rangkasbitung passengers transferring onwards to the Lokal Merak at Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

The transit gates lead directly to the Lokal Merak boarding area for re-entry into the paid area at Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

There was a long queue of passengers due to only 3 fare gates being available.

However, as there was still a bit of time, I headed to the main exit near the railway crossing to spot the Lokal Merak 426 locomotive running around first.

Heading out of Rangkasbitung Railway Station via the main fare gates.

The KAI Commuter Line fare from Sudirman to Rangkasbitung costs Rp 9.000.

Heading out of Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

The façade of the new Rangkasbitung Railway Station KAI Commuter Line entrance.

I arrived at the railway crossing just in time for the Lokal Merak 426 locomotive to go through it when rounding around to the new end of the Lokal Merak 426 train.

Looking back down to Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

My Lokal Merak 426 locomotive heading back to Rangkasbitung Railway Station.

Here, I bought a cheap Rp 10.000 Nasi Padang for lunch to eat on board the Lokal Merak 426 later on.

There is also a DAMRI bus service from Rangkasbitung Railway Station to Sawarna.

From here, I headed back into Rangkasbitung Railway Station to get ready to board my Lokal Merak 426 to Merak.

Conclusion

The Commuter Line Rangkasbitung now offers quite a frequent service from Jakarta Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung with about 2 to 3 trains per hour, in addition to shortworking trips. With the full change to KRL trains, however, passengers now only have 1 choice of train to take along this line, with no option for other classes of seats and speed of trains before the full electrification of the Commuter Line Rangkasbitung.

While travelling along the line is certainly more reliable now with frequent train services, it’s not ideal to be sitting in a high-capacity commuter train sideways for about 2 hours, if you can even get a seat, especially if travelling long-distance onwards to Sumatra.

Being a high-capacity commuter train, there are much more standing area than seats, and it will certainly not be ideal to be standing for 2 hours, especially if not boarding from Tanah Abang the moment doors have opened.

I wish that the old locomotive-hauled services like the Lokal Rangkasbitung (Langsam) would return, just for the comfort of being in an Economy Class coach. However, with such frequent KRL trains now, I’m not sure if it’s possible to slot in an express locomotive-hauled train service now to LANGsung SAMpai in comfort.