Flood in Semarang, KAI Cancels Train Trips; Customers Get Full Refund

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) was forced to cancel several train trips on the North Coast route due to flooding that submerged the railway line in Semarang, Central Java. KAI's Executive Vice President of Corporate Secretary Raden Agus Dwinanto Budiadji said that prospective passengers who already have tickets will receive full refunds, excluding booking fees.

"KAI apologizes for the cancellation of the train. For prospective passengers who already have tickets, they can cancel their tickets at the stations' counters," he said in a written statement on Thursday, March 14.

He said cancellations can be made up to seven days after the scheduled departure time listed on the ticket. Passengers wishing to cancel their departure tickets can contact the customer service officer at the station, WhatsApp KAI121 at 08111-2111-121, email cs@kai.id, KAI Contact Center at 121, or KAI121 on social media.

Raden said that KAI is also providing recovery services to passengers affected by train travel delays due to flooding by providing drinks, snacks, and heavy meals. Meanwhile, 14 trains traveling from the north to the south route have been designed with diversionary operating patterns to reduce the impact of even greater delays.

Earlier, a number of trains passing through Pantura were delayed due to flooding in Semarang. In anticipation of the delays, KAI decided to cancel several train runs from the operational area (Daop) 4 Semarang on Thursday, March 14 at 04:30.

Flooding has affected several areas in Semarang, including areas with railway tracks. The railway tracks on Jalan Semarang Tawang-Alastua, Jalan Semarang Tawang-Semarang Poncol, and Jalan Jalan Mangkang-Kaliwungu have been flooded since early Thursday morning, with the water level more than 10 centimeters above the rail head, making it impossible for trains to pass.

As a result of this incident, the Semarang Tawang Bank Jateng station was unable to serve boarding and alighting passengers until the flood conditions were resolved. This incident also affected a number of trains traveling through Daop 6 bound for Semarang.

Novali Panji Nugroho

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