141 All Aboard, Economy Train

We cycled down the busy main street to the Station. We’d walked and taken the little Taxi Vans so knew exactly where to go. Even got there early and got tickets.

There’s a reason why the ticket only cost about $1.70 for the two hour train ride to Probolinggo. The economy class train is old and slow. And, every seat meant for 2 has 3 or 4 passengers crowded in.

They charged an extra $1.00 for each bike. The Conductor indicated that we should lift them up between the engine and the first car. We got Cat’s up with a little help from a fellow passenger but it had her blocked in. So, I began pulling and tugging at mine and got the front wheel up as the train began to move. Another guy helped pull me and the bike on and we were off.  The hitch on the car reads 1983. The feel of the car reads that it was probably re-conditioned then.

 

Econo Travel in Java

The other irritant about the over crowded car was that all the guys seemed to be chain smokers. Awe we do get spoiled with non-smoking areas, don’t we?

We’d only gone a few Ks to the first stop. A young smoker jumped up then took a seat on the stairway. To add to the anguish we were blocking the doorway to the squater toilet. Yep, a hole in the floor and the tracks below.

The young smoker puffed all the way to the next stop then hopped off. I slipped over the bike and took the seat on the stairway. Progress was painstakingly slow. Probably 25 to 30 MPH. 

Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar.