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tate-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) booked a 123 percent increase in revenue, to around Rp 8.6 trillion (US$735.9 million), in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago, on the back of higher railway capacity.

'€œWe managed to book a significant increase in revenue due to our investment in coaches both for transporting goods and passengers,'€ KAI corporate secretary Wiwik Widayanti told reporters on Thursday.

A total of 24 new coaches for passenger transportation arrived during the first semester of this year, while another 104 coaches will be delivered before the end of this year, KAI said.

The firm has also allocated Rp 7.2 trillion in investment from the fiscal year 2012 to 2014 to expand into the goods and container transportation businesses.

Around 42 percent of KAI'€™s revenue comes from transporting passengers, while 39 percent comes from transporting freight, according to Wiwik. Half of the revenue from freight was derived from transporting coal in South Sumatra.

'€œWe transported coal for PTBA [state-owned listed coal miner PT Bukit Asam] as well as other private coal companies, which is one of the major contributors for KAI'€™s revenue,'€ she said.

KAI is also looking to expand its hospitality business by opening accommodation facilities, expecting the line to further boost the company'€™s revenue, Wiwik added.

The company would open lounge and accommodation facilities at Gambir Station in Jakarta by the end of this year, after launching D'€™Prime Hotel at Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra, managed by the firm'€™s subsidiary PT Railink, she said.

'€œThe lounge at Gambir Station will be operated by KAI'€™s subsidiary PT KA Pariwisata and will also have rooms for our passengers to stay. We hope these facilities will add more value to our services,'€ Wiwik told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

KA Pariwisata, which was established in 2009, aimed to reap around Rp 60 billion in revenue this year, a threefold increase from around Rp 20 billion recorded last year, according to Wiwik.

'€œWe have another hotel that is currently under construction in Surabaya [East Java], which will be operated by PT KA Property Management. The hotel is slated to begin operation in 2015,'€ she added.

The firm'€™s subsidiary, PT Reska Multi Usaha, which manages restaurants, is also expected to expand its business by opening its fifth restaurant in Bandung, West Java, in the second half of this year.

The firm expected that the expansion would increase revenue from its restaurant and catering businesses to Rp 55.45 billion this year, from Rp 48.55 billion last year.

'€œWe were able to boost our daily revenue from Rp 204 million to Rp 230 million last month, especially during the Idul Fitri holiday,'€ Reska spokesman Suyono Syam has previously said. Reviewing menus and adding more traditional dishes at cheaper prices had helped in boosting the daily revenue, he added.

Currently, the company manages four restaurants, having recently opened new outlets at Gubeng Station in Surabaya, East Java, and Tugu Station in Yogyakarta in the first half of the year.

During the Idul Fitri holiday, between July 18 to Aug. 10, KAI booked Rp 361.9 billion in overall revenue, up 16 percent compared to last year'€™s holiday season.

KAI also recorded a total of 5.5 million of passengers during this year'€™s annual exodus, a 17 percent increase from 4.7 million last year.