(Eagle News)–The Department of Transportation has hailed as a success the inaugural run of the new Philippine National Railways cars from Indonesia on Monday, Dec. 16, as they start operations.
In a statement, the DOTr said during the inaugural run of the six railcars, the trip from PNR Dela Rosa station to Tutuban, Manila took only almost 35 minutes.
The six railcars are only a part of the 37 railcars and three locomotives that have been purchased from PT Inka for the PNR.
According to the DOTr, the six diesel multiple.unit train cars are expected to add 18 to 20 more trips per day on its assigned routes from Tutuban (Manila) to FTI (Taguig City) and from Malabon to FTI.
The two train sets aim to accommodate 13,500 more passengers daily, bringing the total capacity of PNR from 60,000 to 73,500 passengers per day, with each new railcar having a capacity of 250 passengers.
“This is the manifestation of all our hard work and the start of the transformation of Philippine railways. And this is the reflection of the leadership this country have today, starting with the President, with our [Transportation] Secretary and the people behind this success,” PNR’s Jun Magno said.
Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, for his part, commended the PNR, noting that through its efforts, the number of operating stations has increased to 37 from only 14 when he assumed office in 2016.
The remaining railcars will be delivered by batches in 2020.
Once all these new train sets are operational, the PNR targets to serve 140,000 passengers per day — at least double the current capacity of 48,000 to 60,000 passengers daily.
