Argo Parahyangan

Argo Parahyangan is such an exotic name for a train. Argo means Mountain in Indonesian and Parahyangan or Priangan or Preanger is the mountainous region in West Java that includes the city of Bandung. This service between Gambir station in Jakarta and Bandung departs just about once every 2 hours in each direction connecting these cities in around 3 hours.

Train tickets

The one way ticket in Eksekutif class cost Rph115,000 which around RM32 for an adult. I tried to purchase on-line from the Kereta Api Indonesia web site http://www.kereta-api.co.id/ but somehow it does not accept non-Indonesian issued credit cards. So you would need to go yourself to purchase at the station. During both trips, the trains were hardly 40 percent full so advanced purchase might only be needed during peak holiday periods. I understand that the number of passengers have fallen since the opening a new highway which cut travel time to just one and a half hours by road.

For the seats with a view make sure you ask for seats C/D going to Bandung and seats A/B to Jakarta. Eksekutif class is like our KTM second class 4 seats in a row but it is the most expensive seat on the Indonesian railway.

The route from Gambir to Bandung

Gambir station in Jakarta is located next to MONAS which is the Indonesian National Monument, a 132 m tower in the centre of Merdeka Square built to commemorate the struggle for independence.

The Gambir station is located to the right of this photo

 The trains that departs from here are the express "Eksekutif" class trains. The other slow "Ekonomi" trains and other local and commuter trains depart from the Jakarta Kota station in the old part of the city. While commuter trains pass through Gambir station, they do not stop so you have to use a taxi to get here.

Entering Gambir station

 You most likely will be dropped off at the South Lobby. It's not large but it's compact with everything you need. There is a KFC, Starbucks, many other F&B outlets and convenience stores for you to stock up on supplies before the trip.

The south lobby

 There is a security and ticket check before you enter the passenger only area. If you need to use the toilet, use the one after the ticket check counter as there are not toilets in the waiting area and platform. You now have to head up with the escalators to the 1st floor which is the waiting area. It has seats, few cafes and shops, plus a mobile phone charging station. It has no air-con but is cool and airy. You could wait here until you train is announced.

The platform is another floor up. This time there are only stairs so if you have a lot of luggage, use the lifts or better still use the porter service. The porters cost about Rph30,000 to 40,000.

The station is very well signed to guide you to the correct platform for your train plus the location of your coach.

The bright and airy platforms of Gambir station

I find it perfectly nice to just wait for the train up here on the platform as I get to watch the trains plus a nice view of MONAS and other sights around the station.

This is a busy station so there are a lot of chances for train spotting of long distance express trains arriving and departing plus Commuter trains passing through. The commuter trains are an interesting sight as they are all ex-Tokyo/ JR metro trains.

The Argo Bromo Anggerek departing for Surabaya

Former Tokyo metro trains

About 15 minutes to departure, the in coming Argo Parahyangan from Bandung arrived and after a quick turnaround of the locomotive we departed about 5 minutes late in heavy rain that suddenly started pouring.

Coach number 1

 The coach was not new but had been well maintained and clean. The seats came with a pillow each, a foot rest and magazines by Kereta Api Indonesia in the seat pocket.

Great legroom

Foot rest

Plastic bag for rubbish and the magazines

A newsletter with transportation related stories

KAI magazine

 Each seat had an electric socket so your phone can be charged through out the trip, plus it also had airline style reading lights above the seats. These are nice touches to the overall comfort and convenience of the passengers.
 

One socket per seat

Reading lights overhead the seats

On this service there were 4 Eksekutif coaches, 1 Buffet/Restaurant coach, 2 Bisnis Class coach and a Power Generation Car. The Eksekutif coaches had different designs.

These had leather seats instead of the fabric one in my coach

Bisnis Class Coach

There were one toilet at each end of the coach. They were clean and had liquid soap, toilet paper but were of the Asian squat type.

The name, photo and mobile number of the customer service officer for the train was place at each coach, which impressed me.

As the train pulled out of the station the Customer Service Officer began the welcome announcement in Bahasa Indonesia and English. Besides the usual information about the the journey, he also announced the names of all the crew on board from the restaurant crew to the security officers and even the maintenance officer. Later as we approached the Cikubang bridge and the Sasaksaat tunnel, announcements were made informing of the significance of them and some historical facts which was wonderful for visitor like me. On the return journey the PA system in my coach was out of order so the Customer Service Officer personally came to me to inform of the approach of the bridge and tunnel as I had asked him earlier about it. I found that outstanding. Just before arriving he also stood at the front of our coach, apologised for the faulty PA and the late arrival in Jakarta and finished by bowing to us. Now that is customer service!

 After the tickets were checked, the crew came around with a menu to take orders for food and drinks. They continued to do this every once in a while offering juices and snacks.

Nasi Timbel on the Gambir to Bandung service

The lovely crew taking orders for meals

Nasi Goreng on the Bandung to Gambir service

The first 1 hour of the journey from Jakarta, I passed the city and the outskirts of the huge city which eventually made way to agricultural land. The final hour of the trip is where it gets interesting. Look out for Plered station and get your camera ready. The train starts it's slow climb from here and soon it will be crossing valleys and hills to it's final destination. The view is breath taking and the bridges scary!

Photo by Johanes Christian

As we hug the sides of the hills we sometimes get to see the bridges ahead of us

The Cikularang highway that links Bandung and Jakarta is just as spectacular as the rail route

Valleys of rivers and paddy terraces

Food, drinks and a great view...priceless

This is a video I made of the ride from Padalarang to Plered during the return journey. I just wished I could have had an open window to take better shots but do enjoy.

For an outside view of these bridges here is an excellent video by Probo AK

I must return to take video of the train like the video above!

After 3 hours, the train pulls into Bandung station which is a nice small and quaint station.

You get to walk across all those railway tracks to reach the station north lobby and waiting area

Looking at the platforms from the waiting area of the station north entrance

The Bandung station north entrance and it's car park

The locomotive that hauled my return train to Jakarta

The very good signage in 4 languages

For the most part, the platform is very much lower so metal stairs are pushed to the coach doors

I would travel by train again in Indonesia in a heartbeat. Excellent customers service with affordable prices makes the train a great option to traveling in Java.

Thank you for visiting.