JAKARTA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (Whoosh) in Indonesia has seen a surge in passengers as the country enters the Eid al-Fitr holiday season, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (PT KCIC), a joint venture consortium between Indonesian and Chinese firms that constructs and runs the HSR, said on Friday.
"It is estimated that the number of passengers today has reached between 18,000 and 20,000. We project that the number of Whoosh passengers during the Eid al-Fitr holiday will peak at up to 24,000 per day," said Eva Chairunisa, general manager and corporate secretary of PT KCIC, in a press release.
For comparison, she noted that the number of Whoosh passengers on normal weekdays ranges from 16,000 to 18,000 per day, while on weekends it usually reaches around 21,000 per day.
Hundreds of millions of Indonesians are expected to travel to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which falls on March 31.
Chairunisa said that the peak surge of passengers departing from Halim Station in Jakarta to Bandung in West Java province is expected on April 2.
During the Eid al-Fitr holiday season, which runs from March 21 to April 11, Whoosh is operating 1,346 trains with a total capacity of 808,000 seats, Chairunisa added.
"KCIC reminds all passengers to book tickets in advance through online channels or purchase them offline at station counters and vending machines," she said.■