Blambangan Express
Blambangan Express is an inter-city passenger train operated by Kereta Api Indonesia with executive and economy classes. It was introduced on 2 December 2022 as a – service, and its route was extended to in July 2024, allowing travel between Jakarta and Banyuwangi without changing trains.
The service runs once daily in each direction. Following the Jakarta extension, it covers about 1,031 km and takes about 16 hours 25 minutes, making it one of the longest KAI inter-city routes.
History
KAI announced the Blambangan Express in late November 2022 as a new Semarang–Ketapang round-trip service. The name "Blambangan" was taken from the historic Blambangan Kingdom in eastern Java. KAI stated that the trainset included 4 executive coaches and 3 economy coaches, with 440 seats per trip.The train began operating on 2 December 2022 with limited operating dates during December. KAI also offered promotional fares for departures from 2 to 18 December 2022. One report on the inaugural day noted 150 passengers on the first departure from Semarang, and published the initial timings for the Semarang–Ketapang schedule. Another report described the service used rolling stock reassigned from the former the former Mutiara Timur operation, with early operations tested on weekends and selected dates.
In July 2024, KAI extended the route from Semarang to Jakarta, launching Ketapang–Pasar Senen on 26 July 2024 and Pasar Senen–Ketapang on 27 July 2024. The new schedule was published as 14:50 from Ketapang and 12:15 from Pasar Senen. Also in July 2024, the train began using new generation economy coaches in a modified layout with 72 seats, following refurbishment work carried out at Manggarai Railway Workshop.
From 1 February 2025, the service schedule was adjusted again following the implementation of train travel chart 2025, including updated departure times for the Jakarta–Ketapang and Ketapang–Jakarta trips.