Significant

The Philippine National Railways has decided to suspend its operations after two of its trains derailed last April. Fifty passengers were hurt in the accident. What the company wants to do is conduct a thorough inspection of its tracks to avoid a similar incident from happening again. Based on what they have seen, metal clips that hold the tracks in place were missing. Informal settlers apparently saw them off to sell as scrap metal. This has apparently been going on for sometime now. Why nothing has been done about it is anyone's guess.

If this is the case, then how is this problem to be solved? According to the PNR, they cannot guard the whole length of the track, and is asking the help of local government units to assist in keeping the tracks safe. Many informal settlers living right beside the train tracks have been relocated, not only for safety concerns but because they have resorted to making the trains their garbage collectors as well. Obviously it is not enough to assure the safety of the tracks. For these thieves, the tracks provide a source of income even at the expense of the safety, even the lives of commuters. Something definitely must be done about this.

The suspension of operations has affected many commuters who prefer to take the train than any other mode of public transportation. It is a lot cheaper and faster. The suspension forces them to spend more just to get to work. What makes things worse is that the PNR cannot say when operations would resume. The rail system is old, and it is no surprise if they find other problems as their inspection progresses.

This really proves how significant a rail system still is to a country. It is by no means an outdated form of transportation. Many developed countries are still improving their trains, making them faster and safer for the riding public. Modern trains travel as fast as aircraft. There are developments for trains to literally float above its tracks, making them even faster.

Needless to say, the PNR has been neglected through the decades. It has not been modernized nor updated, merely patched up to make them run. You can take your pick who is to blame for this. If there are plans to upgrade the PNR, I haven't really heard any. Even modern train systems like the Northrail project have been put on hold. A fast train system between Metro Manila and Clark International Airport would have helped a lot in decongesting the NAIA. The government has to take a good look at the benefits of an efficient train system. But if we can't even make the MRT work well enough to keep from breaking down, we may have to contend with what ancient systems we have.

“Needless to say, the PNR has been neglected through the decades. It has not been modernized nor updated, merely patched up to make them run. You can take your pick who is to blame for this. If there are plans to upgrade the PNR, I haven't really heard any.”