Don’t derail our train projects

For many days, a few years back, under heavy rains and amid strong floods or under the scorching summer afternoon, I experienced riding the Philippine National Railways (PNR) from España to Makati, from Makati to Tutuban, from Tutuban back to España and many places in between.

It was not the most convenient ride. Riding the PNR is like walking the gauntlet. While the coaches are relatively clean and there is air conditioning, the whole system itself is problematic and sorely needs modernization.The trains move very slowly and the arrivals are unpredictable, depending on whether a coach has bogged down or a certain station is flooded – which means the tracks are not passable.

During rush hour, the trains will burst at the seams and almost on cue, the air conditioning system will stop working.

Bad days will see intermittent stops and occasional bogdowns. In some stations, the platform is short – not enough to cover the coaches at the back – so commuters have to literally jump to the ground.

But if modernized and maintained well, the PNR could potentially be a game changer in public transportation. It is much cheaper than its newer counterparts, the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit, and certainly more affordable than driving. It can also go long distances. PNR used to operate over 797 kilometers from La Union down to Bicol.

However, neglect by one administration after another reduced PNR’s efficiency and railroad coverage.

It is, therefore, unfortunate to hear that the country’s three rail projects may be derailed because the Chinese government failed to act on the funding requests by the previous administration.

The three projects are the P142 billion PNR South LongHaul Project—also called the PNR Bicol Express, the P83 billion Tagum-Davao-Digos segment of the Mindanao Railway Project, and the P51 billion Subic-Clark Railway Project.

The cancellation of the projects, if this indeed happens, will be a big blow to Filipinos, especially to Bicolanos. Many have been waiting for the PNR to again reach the province of Bicol as it used to be.

For many Filipinos, it would be the ideal way to reach their families in the province because it is much cheaper compared to bus tickets from Manila, which cost up to P1,300 for a oneway ticket. A train run may be in the hundreds; it’s at least P15 for the current line.

The project will also shorten the travel time from 12 hours to four hours.

According to the blueprint, the line will be partially operable between San Pablo and Lucena by 2025, and the first phase between Banlic and Daraga will be fully opened by 2027.

Long history

The PNR officially began operations on Nov. 24, 1892 as the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan. It later became the Manila Railroad Co. (MRR) during the American colonial period. It became the Philippine National Railways on June 20, 1964 by virtue of Republic Act 4156, according to data on the PNR website.

However, due to neglect, the PNR declined severely through the decades.

There were also persistent problems with informal settlers in the 1990s, which contributed further to PNR’s decline.

In 2006, Typhoons Millennia and Reming caused severe damage to the network, resulting in the suspension of the Manila-Bicol services.

Open to negotiations

On Wednesday, news from the Department of Finance indicated that the Marcos administration is still open to pursuing negotiations with China for the rail project, even as officials also said that it would look for other financing arrangements.

President Marcos said that with the project’s staggering cost, the government may consider official development assistance or public-private partnerships to put the projects back on track.

China supposedly wants to charge an interest rate of three percent, which would be too costly for the government. In comparison, Japan was offering 0.1 percent.

Of the three projects, the biggest is the P142 billion PNR Bicol project, which will connect Laguna and Albay. It consists of seven contract packages – four for civil works, two for the trains, and one for project management consultancy.

It is important for the government and China to remain open to negotiations instead of totally scrapping the project.

Or the government can indeed pursue other funding sources, but note that this could further delay the project, which would leave Filipinos at the losing end.

Our government must continuously promote ways to encourage the convenient and efficient movement of goods and people because this is one way to help grow the economy. Iris Gonzales’ email address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com