Back on track after 20 years

After 20 years of closure, the Department of Transportation (DoTr)-Philippine National Railways (PNR) reopened yesterday its train service from Caloocan to Dela Rosa in Makati, 20 years after it was closed to the public.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said this is in line with the efforts of the Duterte administration to begin the revival of the Philippine railways.

“We will not just add, but also rehabilitate. We wanted to see concrete changes. We wanted to move fast. But, at the same time, we had to ensure we won’t miss out on possible solution. This is a good opportunity for us to make use of what is already there – fix what needs to be fixed. This is not just an additional public service, but extra income for the government,” Tugade said.

The Caloocan-Dela Rosa line is the fastest and most cost-efficient means of transportation from Caloocan to Makati, with running time of 37 minutes. It was shut down in 1997, as part of it was supposed to be utilized for the Northrail Project; however, much of the rail tracks lay unused.

PNR General Manager Junn Magno said the revival of the line segment was through the effort and cooperation of several agencies.

At the same time, the DoTr–Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (DoTr-LTFRB) launched on Tuesday the first modernized Public Utility Vehicles (PUV) in Western Visayas that will ply new routes in Iloilo.

Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark De Leon, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III and LTFRB R6 Regional Director Richard Osmeña led the launching of 45 brand new PUV that will ply routes covering local government units of Iloilo City, Oton and Pavia.