Garut to Jakarta

Garut's railway reopened in March 2022 after almost forty years without passenger trains, and the town now has two direct services a day to Jakarta. Both leave from Garut station, near the town centre, and both take about five to five and a half hours.

Which trains run this route: the Cikuray is the early option, a subsidised ekonomi train that leaves Garut in the morning and runs via Cibatu, Nagreg, Kiaracondong, Bandung, Cimahi, Purwakarta, Cikampek, Karawang, Cikarang, Bekasi and Jatinegara to Pasar Senen. The Papandayan leaves around lunchtime and arrives at Gambir in the early evening, with eksekutif, premium ekonomi and a Panoramic car with a glass roof. It calls at Bandung on the way.

The scenery comes early. The first hour is the best part: out of the Garut basin through the rice fields at Kadungora and Leles, then up over the Nagreg pass into Bandung. After Bandung the line threads the hills and viaducts towards Purwakarta before flattening out across the plain to Jakarta. The Panoramic car makes the whole climb worth the extra fare.

Which to choose: the Papandayan's midday departure gives you a morning in Garut and an arrival at Gambir, which is far more central and easier for onward connections. The Cikuray suits an early start and a tight budget, and its fare is a fraction of the Papandayan's.

Book in Access by KAI. For the outbound journey see Jakarta to Garut, and for the shorter hop into Bandung see Bandung to Garut.