KA Pangrango 217B from Sukabumi to Bogor by Train in Executive Class (K1 JS-950 with 2018 seats)
KA Pangrango is a series of long-distance trains operating between Bogor and Sukabumi, extending south of the terminus of KAI Commuter Line Bogor at Bogor on the non-electrified line to Sukabumi. Heading back to Bogor to head back to Jakarta, I changed travel class to Executive Class to try out the other end of the same rake returning back from my Pangrango 218C that I had just arrived on.
The Pangrango train is named after Mount Pangrango which the train skirts around on the eastern and southern sides of the dormant stratovolcano. As KA Pangrango is not a subsidised train, I could make my booking easily online via credit card.
Sukabumi Railway Station
The façade of Sukabumi Railway Station.
Heading back in to Sukabumi Railway Station as quickly as I had arrived. I had wanted to take a short walk around Sukabumi Railway Station, but it was raining.
Manned ticket counters and check-in kiosks are to the left of the station hall.
The timetables of KA Pangrango and KA Siliwangi are displayed above the check-in kiosks.
Ticket counters are also available for KA Pangrango reservations and KA Pangrango and KA Siliwangi go show tickets.
Check-in
Heading to the check-in kiosks to get my boarding pass for my Pangrango 217B train.
My boarding pass for my Pangrango 217B train from Sukabumi to Bogor. Despite having registered my vaccination information on PeduliLindungi already, my vaccination status still remains as unvaccinated. I’m not sure if this problem is for all foreigners.
Ticket Checking
Heading to the platform at ticket checking.
My vaccination problem was easily solved by showing my vaccination certificate at ticket checking as my boarding pass was scanned by the staff.
Vaccination is no longer required to travel on KAI trains.
Sukabumi Railway Station has 3 platforms and 2 lines for passenger activities.
A pedestrian crossing is available in the middle of the station. A Reska staff was already on hand to welcome passengers on board the Pangrango 217B.
As this was the same set of crew from my previous Pangrango 218C, this Reska staff took an extra mile to welcome me back on board, acknowledging me as a railway fan.
The name plate of KA Pangrango on selected coaches.
The station sign of Sukabumi Railway Station.
The Pangrango 218C was longer than the platforms of Sukabumi Railway Station, and I was unable to get a front train shot here.
Heading back to the shelter to avoid the drizzle.
There are Pertamina diesel tanks on the platform for refuelling at Sukabumi Railway Station itself.
While it’s just a 57 kilometer journey, the scheduled journey time will be 2 hours and 4 minutes with many stops along the station and winding railway lines.
Peeking into the train dispatcher’s office with an opened window. The dispatcher still changes signals and tracks with levers.
K3 2016 New Image Economy Class
Most of the Pangrango train is made up of K3 2016 New Image Economy Class coaches, which were fully seated during the journey. More details on the K3 2016 New Image Economy Class coaches on the Pangrango train can be found in my previous journey.
Kereta Makan Pembangkit (Restaurant & Power Car)
A Kereta Makan Pembangkit (KMP) (Restaurant & Power Car) is attached on the Pangrango, providing food and drinks service, and to provide hotel power to the train.
Half of the KMP contains the generator providing hotel power to the whole train. Surprisingly, it was not overly noisy and walking past the generator was not deafening.
A mushola is also available on board the KMP for Muslim prayers.
Slippers are also provided for ablution.
The KMP catering area has a large galley and service counter.
Bar seating facing out to the train windows away from the ordering counter is provided on board this KMP.
K1 JS-950 Executive Class
There are 2 K1 JS-950 Executive Class coaches on the Pangrango. While made in 1995, the seat upholstery has changed to the 2019 version with a thicker seat padding, side headrests, and the new blue-beige covering. The seat frame remains as the original version, but that’s a smart reuse.
The K1 JS-950 Executive Class coach was showing its age with a broken seat pedal at 6C and 6D which cannot be rotated to face Bogor in the correct direction of travel.
This caused an awkward facing bay of 4 seats at 6C, 6C, 7C, and 7D with legroom halved.
Thankfully, my booked seat at 6A did not have this rotation problem. However, it was in bad condition as well.
The legroom available on board this K1 JS-950 Executive Class coach. My legrest was broken and can only be rested on the floor.
A side table and 2 2-pin power sockets are available by the window seat.
The front part of my armrest was also missing.
My tray table could also not be laid out 90 degrees straight, falling as far as it can with gravity.
I had to use my lap to keep my tray table up level.
And perhaps the saddest part of my seat, the old window design of the coach and my seat roulette when booking my ticket gave me an almost windowless seat with a big bulkhead with curtains.
The route map of Pangrango on board my coach.
Sitting toilets are available on board this K1 JS-950 Executive Class coach.
The view of my K1 JS-950 Executive Class coach from my seat.
KA Siliwangi 437
The Siliwangi 437 arrived at Sukabumi Railway Station at 5.04pm – 7 minutes early.
This allows Siliwangi 437 passengers to connect onwards to Pangrango 217B. Pre-booking is necessary as go show tickets were unlikely to be available unless it’s for short distances, and go show sales closes 10 minutes before departure, giving a very short window to purchase tickets if any were even still available.
The name plate of KA Siliwangi on selected coaches.
K3 AC Kemenhub Economy Class
The Siliwangi train is made up fully of K3 AC Kemenhub Economy Class coaches.
K3 AC Kemenhub Economy Class coaches seat 106 passengers per coach in a 2+3 configuration in fixed benches in facing bays of 4 or 6 seats.
The longer bench seats 3 passengers each. A side table and 2 2-pin power sockets are available by the window seat.
The shorter bench seats 2 passengers each. A side table and 2 2-pin power sockets are available by the window seat.
K3 AC Kemenhub Economy Class coaches have been upgraded with multi-split air-conditioning on board the coach.
The route map of the Siliwangi train.
The coach number that I boarded on board Siliwangi while it was a rake.
The number plate of K3 0 00 01. K3 stands for Economy Class, 0 stands for non-motorised, 00 represents the year of manufacture (2000) and 01 is the number in the series of coaches.
I seem to have an affinity of meeting the first of the series of coaches on my Indonesia trips in 2022.
While the Siliwangi and Pangrango were parked beside each other, a cross-platform interchange is technically not possible due to the need for transferring passengers from Siliwangi to check-in inside Sukabumi Railway Station to get the boarding pass.
However, I do not know if simply boarding the Pangrango with a valid booking but without checking in is allowed in the event of a delay of the incoming Siliwangi, to catch the impending immediate departure of the Pangrango.
Before the Pangrango 217B departure, the Reska staff were already going up and down the Executive Class coaches with the trolley to sell food and drinks.
My Pangrango 217B departed from Sukabumi Railway Station on time at 5.25pm.
I decided to join a few passengers to get dinner from the trolley as the Reska staff passed.
Like most other passengers around me, I ordered a box of CFC, along with a bottle of Fruit Tea.
The CFC set came with 1 piece of chicken and 1 rice, which seems to be the most popular meal being sold in Executive Class.
The tinted windows of the K1 JS-950 Executive Class coach along with the setting sun did not make good photos out of the window, and the night soon made it quite impossible.
The Pangrango 217B stops at Cisaat, Karangtengah, Cibadak, Parungkuda, Cicurug, Cigombong, Maseng, Batutulis, and Bogor Paledang along the way.
Bogor Paledang Railway Station
Making a brief stop at Bogor Paledang Railway Station. This was the former terminus of the until the extension to Bogor Railway Station on 1 June 2022 for easier passenger transfers to and from the KAI Commuter Line Bogor.
Departing from Bogor Paledang Railway Station.
Crossing the main Jalan Kapten Muslihat road outside Bogor Railway Station.
Passing by the new station hall of Bogor Railway Station facing Jalan Kapten Muslihat.
Crossing the pedestrian railway crossing inside Bogor Railway Station.
My Pangrango 217B arrived at Bogor Railway Station at 7.28pm – 1 minute early.
Disembarking from the Pangrango 217B.
Executive Class coaches were at the rear of Pangrango 217B, which made for a short walk to the crossing point to the main station building.
The main station building of Bogor Railway Station.
Despite many KAI Commuter Line trains in front of me departing immediately, I could not simply board them yet as I have not tapped into the system which will probably get me a penalty when trying to exit in Jakarta later on.
Crossing the pedestrian crossing in the middle of the station.
The exit for Pangrango passengers is on the left.
Heading out of Bogor Railway Station via the Pangrango exit.
The façade of Bogor Railway Station Pangrango exit.
The façade of Bogor Railway Station at night.
Here, I entered Bogor Railway Station again via the main hall to continue on my journey back to Jakarta via the KAI Commuter Line Bogor.
Conclusion
Executive Class on the Pangrango train differs greatly from Executive Class on trains that depart from Jakarta Gambir Railway Station. While seats have been reupholstered, the functions of the seat are in bad condition, and is in dire need of a proper overall mid-life refurbishment if it is still planned to be used in the years to come.
However, I also recognise that the fare of Rp 80.000 for a 2-hour journey may be lower than other trains that run directly to Jakarta, and more emphasis is made on providing more Economy Class coaches on the rake of the Pangrango, so perhaps demand is different on this local line.
Nevertheless, this does not mean the people of Bogor and Sukabumi should be enduring poorer quality of coaches when everyone knows that KAI can be and is better than this.