There were about 250 passengers on the train as it travelled from the city of Bandung in the west of Java to Malang in the east.
The land slipped away from under the tracks as the train was passing through the city of Tasikmalaya at 6:30 pm, said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Three of the train's eight carriages derailed and five people were killed, he said.
"Three bodies have been evacuated and the two other bodies remain trapped. We are in the process of evacuating them," he said.
Train accidents are common on Indonesia's ageing and poorly maintained railroad network. Landslides and floods occur frequently during the archipelago's six-month rainy season.
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