Building PH rail

HE Asia Pa c i f i c Ra i l Summit 201 7 , held March 21 to 22 in Hong Kong, covered innovation, technology and strategy for Asia Pacific’s rail industry. Plans to transform the future of rail in the region was also on deck, highlighting the One Belt One Road ( OBOR), the digital railway of the future and country presentations from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, India, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan and many more.

Listening to all the presentations highlighted the problematic history of rails in the Philippines and how bad management and corruption led to the demise of the once proud Philippine National Railways ( PNR) as well as the plunderous acts done to MRT Line 3. New officials have been appointed to manage the Department of Transportation, PNR and the Light Rail Transit Authority ( LRTA). The success of developing the rail system is now in the hands of Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, who was appointed with a lot of hype, only to be derailed, with the emergency powers proposal and delayed decisions on old contracts of private contractors on MRT1, the common station, among others. Nine months hence, we have not heard of Tugade. The PNR is now headed by former PNP chief Roberto Lastimoso as chairman while the LRTA is chaired by another former police director, Reynaldo Berroya.

The LRTA was created under Executive Order 603 on July 12, 1980. LRTA manages the LRT- 2 that runs from Santolan to Recto, and oversees the Light Rail Manila Corp., the private operator and maintenance contractor of the LRT- 1 that runs from Baclaran to Roosevelt. accounting done, if ever, on who destroyed PNR?

Solving the traffic nightmare of Metro Manila is tied to the full operation of the light railways system as well as that of the PNR. Another unused or underutilized system is the Pasig River. In developed cities, the water tributaries cutting across boundaries are traversed by ferries that cater for tourists, commuters and cargo. The Pasig can be developed by reorienting and reengineering the area. It can be a new metro project showcase just like in Singapore, Mumbai, Malaysia and Jakarta.

The future holds bright with rails. Imagine the country connected by railway for products and people; for destinations and travel via the western and eastern seaboard. Imagine a majority of Metro ns using the light rails, leaving their private vehicles at home. Imagine terminals where experience is the key and not just a loading platform of decrepit escalators and rest rooms. Imagine new townships in every stop. Imagine development brought to the second- tier cities. And the multiplier effect is also tremendous in terms of contribution to GDP and domestic economies.

In fact, the value proposition is such that the formula for sustainable management has been identified already, no need to reinvent the wheel. Take the case of MTR in Hong Kong, a “Rail+Property” longterm financing model, with property development profit gap. MTR also adheres to the