Jakarta Train from Semarang 🚂
Our 3-week trip through Indonesia to the secluded tropical island of Karimunjawa concluded with a 460 km train journey from Semarang to Jakarta. There, we’d have just a day and a half in the city before taking our return flight back to Rome.
Before starting our return journey to Jakarta, we knew we would have very little time in Semarang to purchase train tickets.
We therefore decided to book our train tickets online, several months earlier. The train from Semarang can be busy, and with a return flight to Europe the following day we didn’t want to take any chances.
Highlights
- All Hotel Options in Semarang
- Tawang Train Station, Semarang
- Jakarta Train In-Carriage Experience
- Purchase your Train Tickets Online
- All Hotel Options in Jakarta
- Our Complete Indonesia Itinerary
Purchase your Jakarta Train Tickets Online
Using the 12Go.com website, we purchased 2 executive-class one-way tickets for IDR 259,000 each (€17).
There are slightly different prices based on where in the carriage you choose to sit. However the seating diagram is a little confusing, so we chose the cheapest.
Apart from this, the 12Go.com website was easy enough to use, sending us a train voucher PDF file by email. The printed voucher had a booking bar code. We understood we would have to exchange the voucher at the train station in Semarang to receive our actual train tickets.
Tawang Train Station, Semarang
On the morning of our departure from Semarang, we arrived at Tawang train station an hour in advance. A helpful security guard scanned our voucher on one of the station’s automatic ticket dispensers, and our tickets were printed.
Jakarta Train from Semarang
The process was all very modern and hi-tech, and so unlike our experiences on the Indian train network.
Our train was already waiting, so we were able to board and find our seats a good 45 minutes before departure. The inside carriages were clean, if a little worn.
Jakarta Train In-Carriage Experience
Unfortunately, our seats were right at the front facing a bulkhead, so there wasn’t room to stretch our legs. Obviously, we should have paid better attention to the seating plan when making our booking online.
Although it’s not clear from the seating diagrams, there’s a reason for all the different prices.
Jakarta Train from Semarang
Each carriage has a TV screen playing movies, and you can purchase drinks from the stewards. Each seat also has its own electrical point for charging your devices.
Our journey from Semarang to Gambir station in central Jakarta took a little over 6 hours. There were just 3 or 4 stops along the way.
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