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PH Railway Institute to ensure efficient railway system
“I congratulate the universities that have railway institutes in their own right doing specialization. I look forward that your universities can coordinate with the railway institute. As a nation, we can establish a railway institute that is not only benchmarking what Japan is doing but I wish in the future that it can be an envy in the world when it comes to railway efficiency,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in his speech during the event. (Photo By United States Embassy in Manila – United States Embassy in Manila – Facebook, Public Domain)
MANILA — A railway institute will soon be established to train and certify individuals interested to engage in the development of the railway system in the country.
This, as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) signed a memorandum of agreement with various academic institutions in creating the country’s first-ever Philippine Railway Institute (PRI), during the Transportation Summit 2018 (TransMit) held in Intramuros, Manila Thursday.
“I congratulate the universities that have railway institutes in their own right doing specialization. I look forward that your universities can coordinate with the railway institute. As a nation, we can establish a railway institute that is not only benchmarking what Japan is doing but I wish in the future that it can be an envy in the world when it comes to railway efficiency,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in his speech during the event.
DOTr also signed the Records of Discussion with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will lay down the steps and timeline for the establishment of the PRI.
The PRI will provide the human and knowledge resources needed to design, build, operate, and maintain the massive railways pipeline under the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program.
It is envisioned to become a training institution and licensing body, which will ensure that all individuals who will operate and maintain the trains, as well as other personnel involved in operations, will have the necessary skills, qualifications, and service-oriented mindset.
Among the academic institutions involved in the partnership are TransMit host Mapua University, National University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas.
For his part, DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said, “The PRI will ensure that the Philippines’ Golden Age of Infrastructure will be sustained and will continue delivering the reliable service that our people deserve long after all of the Build Build Build projects are completed.”
The DOTr targets to create 1,900 km. of railroad tracks by the end of the Duterte administration in 2022 from the current 77 km. of operational railways in the country.
“Delivering this massive railways pipeline will require not just the more than PHP1 trillion that the government will be investing. It will also require talented and hardworking individuals, especially young and optimistic ones, who are committed to serving the nation,” Batan said. (PNA)
CharlesWilliamMorganJr
March 6, 2018 at 2:23 AM
The report is encouraging and optimistic! In view of the past, we will believe it when we see it. However, the present plans are limited in scope, and need to be expanded to meet the real need. The islands need to be connected by undersea rail tunnels or bridges. Either China or Japan could help with this, as their technology is well developed. It should be possible to board a high-speed train in Manila for virtually any other major city in the nation, including Davao City, Iloilo City, General Santos City, Taegugurao, Cebu, Zamboanga City, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, etc. The objective of the rail service should be how best to serve the people, and NOT as a form of employment. A major factor should be to reduce pollution with the use of rail. A policy should be formed to carry all freight and goods by rail, including sugar cane, as in the past, when it was efficiently transported by rail, with little pollution.
A policy should be formed to emphasize the use of rail for ALL transport, and to reduce the use of polluting busses and trucks. The EDSA rail line should be extended to the Mall of Asia as an obvious and needed improvement. Rail is the safest, most efficient, most economical, most comfortable form of transport known to man. We should go for it to the maximum extent possible!