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PT KAI stops operation of KA Malang Express train
MALANG: State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is expected to cease its business class KA Malang Express train starting Dec
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ALANG: State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is expected to cease its business class KA Malang Express train starting Dec. 1, 2009 as it has been considered no longer feasible.
Irfan Karsidi, the Kota Baru train station deputy chief in Malang, said the occupancy rate of the train was less than 50 percent of its total seat capacity of 256 for each service.
The train has run the Malang-Surabaya route twice a day since 2005.
"We have been forced to stop the train service because the revenue we make from ticket sales is lower than the cost of operating the train," Irfan said.
The train's cars and locomotives will be shifted to serve busier routes, according to Irfan.
He said the KA Malang Express train was initially provided as an alternative to the busy Porong highway that was susceptible to traffic jams, especially following the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster.
"It seems people have become accustomed to the traffic congestion on the highway and they no longer choose to travel by train," Irfan said, adding the train was only fully occupied on weekends. - JP
