Kualanamu Airport Railink Services (ARS)

This story is heartily and lovingly dedicated to Philippine Department of Transportation.

To start this juicy story, let me copy everything that I said about this train when I arrived...and I quote:

And this is why any airport in the Philippines will be shamed by this small Sumatran airport...

Right in front of the arrivals exit is the Airport Railink Services station. To the left is the Taxi Stand and parking area, to the right is the Public Bus Station and more parking slots. Real seamless connection!

Of course I took the train!

This train station is clean, cozy, not crowded, with a look and feel like it's an extension of the airport!

And the train coaches are of world-class standard - mas maganda pa yata sa KLIA Express!

About 30 minutes on 27.5 kilometers of safe and cozy travel, with views of a picturesque countryside for only IDR100,000 or about PHP300? Not bad, since that is the same distance from NAIA T1 via the entire length of EDSA all the way to Monumento, kumaliwa ka pa to Monumento LRT1 Station. Pwede!

That ride brought me to the city center (Medan Station) on top of which is/was the hotel I stayed at!

More stories coming up. Promise!
...and unquote!

So as you now know, I slept overnight at d'prima hotel, the hotel atop the city train station. I didn't hear any disturbing train sound in that hotel room as it is way high up, while the trains are way down below. They probably use science to ensure that hotel guests sleep comfortably. Science ha? Wa nagpataka!

Anyway...

Fast-forward to morning, I woke up at 3AM as I must take the first train (my flight departs at 7:45AM).

A bit worrisome, but everyone I talked-to said there was enough time. It's like this: the first train to the airport departs only at 530AM - it takes about 40 minutes (based on my arrival experience yesterday).

But, if my fligth was departing at 7:45AM, I should be at the airport at least 5:45AM not 6:10AM, right? Ah, the clerks on that desk, guards, hotel staff, etc. said I had enough time, so nothing to worry about!

Okay fine, I believed them!

By the way, if you might be wondering what's that big wide circular desk for, that's just the Information Counter of Medan Station. And you may be asking why it's that big? The answer is: bakit apektado ka?

They have so much space they made the left side a City Check-in Desk for Lion Air and subsidiaries!

The desk is always open until 4-hrs before flight schedule (if so, you do it the usual way at the airport).

I availed of that City Check-in yesterday (for my flight departure today). Wala lang, just to try it, since i have no check-in baggage anyway. The check-in clerk gave me my boarding pass, told me I should be at the airport an hour BETD and that I could go straight to the gate for boarding. Why am I so praning?

Old habits are never easy to forget. Pag sanay ka sa 2 hours BETD, ke me web check-in, city check-in, phone check-in at kung anu-ano pa... you'll still feel uneasy if not at the airport 2 hours before a flight!

Ha? Ako lang ba ang ganun? OMG! But there's a useful twist to my being praning! Eto...

To the right of that circular counter, at 4:38AM. Look, still closed! Di ba alam ko it opens at 5:30AM?

Yes alam ko. But I came down anyway, still in my sleep gear (no I did not sleep-walk), wearing the soft cottony hotel-provided slippers, just to make uzi as in osyoso, para me mai-kwento ako sa inyo lalo na sa mga awtoridad natin na ang prinsipyo yata eh ipaglayo ang land at air transport imbis na idugtong!

Stasiun Medan or Medan Station or City Railway Station, I found out, is a busy hub, with trains coming and going to other towns and cities to its east and west. Plus north, which is Kualanamu airport. Woa!

Still closed, meaning not yet operational for the day, but it didn't mean people can't buy train tickets.

Pindut-pindot lang and you already have your airport train ticket. I bought mine before taking a bath! A bit of intriguing development is even that announcement saying effective August ticket purchases will only be available with non-cash payments (debit, credit or prepaid). Hmm, do all train riders have that?

Anyway, that is apparently where everything is leading to.

Hey look, other announcements and ads in standees are neatly lined on one side of this floor space...

Madami mahaba yan, I just didn't take pics of those that are purely commercial advertisements. And I enjoy attempting to read and understand the more important announcements, like that 2nd standee.

I noted the 10 items are rules governing train tickets. Pasasaan pa, sa kakabasa ko netong mga salita nila eh matututo rin yata ako mag-BIM (Bahasa Indonesia Malayu) [Indonesian/Malaysian Language].

These are the things I learned from that standee:
You must ride the airport train 2hrs BETD for domestic flights, 3hrs BETD for international. Kung hindi ka umabot, wala silang kasalanan at bahala ka sa buhay mo, dahil malaki ka na at me sariling isip na!

Opo yun talaga ang sabi. Pagalit pa nga at nakapamewang hahaha!

Medan Station starts boarding 20mins before train departure time. Ahuhhhh, kaya pala. Now I know! If the RFID does not work or if the card is lost, wala na madaming satsat, bili ka ulit. Ganun ka-simple!

Basta 3ft pataas bayad, kesehudang kahapon lang ipinanganak yan hehehe. Kung magpapalit ka ng oras, penalty ng 25%. Kung ipapa-refund mo, it will take 30 to 45 working days. O ano, hihirit ka pa?

Anyway, still on the same floor as the information counter, they do have a photo-booth! Pose agad!

In my case, at 4:48AM, I went down to street level just to see how it is very early in the morning.

And I had the chance to observe a Becak Motor already busy at work in the wee hours of the morning!

That would be their equivalent of our tricycle, right? Yes, baliktad lang ang location ng motor at driver, since Indonesia is a drive-left country. By the way "becak" without the motorbike is the original becak! Kumbaga sa atin pa "pedicab" o "padyak" etc., That is why they call that one becak motor! Same lang.

4:53AM, one last glance at the little front desk of d'prima hotel Medan. everything else are upstairs.

4:59AM I saw that the hallway was already opened and passengers were entering so I followed...

There is a choice of escalators or elevators going down tot he platform. But I walked like the others!

And oh, I heard it's also being announced on the public address system - parang sa airport! Okay ah!

Here's a collage of many things I saw while inside this luxurious train ride direct to their airport!

I will dare say "wala ni isang ganyan sa atin, not because we lack designers or engineers, but because mga pulpol ang namumuno sa ating transport and infrastructure authorities". Imagine, probinsya ito!

Eto pa, on train's arrival you have a choice of going up to departure area, or stay down at arrival level.

Note: although just across, and having a 'look and feel' of Kualanamu Airport, this is not yet the airport building but the train station's. But yes, they're amazingly "seamlessly" connected! Sa atin, ano meron?

Haay, if we use the Cebu T2 as an example, it's as if saying bawal public transpo to the airport!

Now children... eto, airport na ba ito? No no no no no, not yet! It just feels like it is!

Everything about this place, you'll notice, pinag-isipan talaga w/ the traveling common public in mind.

Remember the big round information counter at Stasiun Medan? Here, just across arrival is this one:

Not only can you buy tickets for the train here, you can also buy tickets for airlines, tours, etc. Grabe!

Let me give it some perspective: if you walked out of the train, straight to the airport's arrival area (like if you were meeting someone), that below is where you would pass by. Notice the arrivals area can be seen at the upper left corner of the picture! But if you were a departing passenger (like I was), you just follow the signs saying departures, step on the walkalator, and it brings you up to the upper level. Yea!

Here finally, as the walkalator crosses the street to the airport terminal's building...

And another calm and easy ride to the check-in area...

And... eto na hahaha!

But that is another topic, since we were just talking about the Airport Railink Services in this article.

Yes yes, we will talk more about the airport in my next article. But meanwhile, please let our transport auithorities read and reread this - to see gaano kagaling ang public service nila, kahit wala kang kotse!

Haiszt! Gusto ko makipag-debate sa kanila!

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