Wait till Nov. to ride PNR trains plying south of Luzon—PNR official

by KRISTINE ELIZABETH B. DIHIANSAN
University of Santo Tomas Journalism program


MANILA—ANY day from now, second-hand passenger coaches from East Japan Railways will arrive here to hopefully re-open the Philippine National Railway’s (PNR) route from Manila to southern portions of Luzon.
But passengers will have to wait until early November to enjoy the rides from Manila to Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions, said PNR operations manager Estelito Nierva.
PNR’s 536 km.-long Southrail operation will be from Manila to Legazpi City.
An August news report quoted Nierva was saying that the Southrail operations of PNR will commence after the celebration of the Peñafrancia Festival (in Naga City, Camarines Sur), annually held on the third Saturday of September.
Nierva said while rail tracks plying the Manila-Legazpi City route are “already passable,” these tracks are still being strengthened with concrete sleepers, or railroad ties that are made out steel-reinforced concrete.
Another reason for the delay of the Southrail project, Nierva said, is the appointing of a new PNR general manager under the Aquino administration, in Manuel Andal.
The US$932.037 million Southrail project, launched in 2009, involved two phases: rehabilitating an existing railway line from Calamba City, Laguna to Legazpi City, Albay, and the construction of a new railway extension line from Camalig, Albay to Matnog, Sorsogon.
Once the rail tracks covering these southern cities and municipalities are identified, PNR said it will allow train speeds of up to 120 kms. per-hour (kph).
If completed, the first year of operations will commence two years after the start of the project, and the route is along the Manila-Lucena City corridor. Services will then reach Legazpi City after another two years, and will extend to Sorsogon after another two years.
PNR projects that some 34,220 people will ride daily the Manila-Legazpi City corridor, though currently about 1,000 passengers ride the Manila-Legazpi City route.
The costs of the project were courtesy of Philippine government loans from Korea and China.
The Northrail-Southrail linkage project (from Caloocan City, Metro Manila to Calamba City, Laguna) costs P54.6 billion, while the Southrail project (from Manila to Legazpi City [phase 1], and extending to Matnog, Sorsogon [phase 2]) costs US$932.037 million (or PhP40.077 billion at US$1=PhP43).
When typhoons Milenyo and Reming hit southern Luzon in 2006, two major passing bridges of the PNR route were destroyed: the San Cristobal Bridge in Calamba City and another bridge in the municipality of Guinobatan, Albay.
Though, the requested PhP1.5 billion budget to rehabilitate the two bridges was only approved in 2008, and repair work began in December that year.
Apart from repairing the bridges, the PhP1.5 billion was also used to strengthen the rail tracks by converting molave-made sleepers into concrete ones.
But existing PNR coaches —particularly the deluxe type— already have television sets on board.
Nierva added that once the Manila-Legazpi City route re-opens, diner coaches will be restored and sleeper coaches will be made available as well.
It is this spacious legroom of a sleeper coach that Marife Bautista misses the most (her last boarding of a PNR train was in January 1988, and the train of this Libmanan, Camarines Sur native rode then only had one dining and sleeper coach apiece, four air-conditioned reclining seats, and ordinary seats patterned after those of passenger buses).
Nierva estimates that if a bus ride plying the Manila-Legazpi City route costs PhP830.80, PNR estimates that the train ride will cost PhP592.50.
Nierva said PNR management has yet to approved fare rates for the Manila-Legazpi City route. (572 words)