Amid mounting complaints and concerns ranging from long queues and train accidents, Chinese experts were dispatched to the Philippines to help local experts improve the railway system.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) chief representative Noriaki Niwa said experts from the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have already met with Philippine officials to discuss and map out points of improvements for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR). “This mission is part of the JICA’s ongoing cooperation to help improve the Philippine’s public transport system,” he said. “The experiences of China in railway operations will be useful to the Philippines,” he added.
China is known to be among the best in the operation of the railway system in the world while the Philippine government is currently at the receiving end of criticisms for what is perceived to be a lousy operation of the mass transport system in the country.
A number of railway deaths and injuries have been noted in the case of the PNR while the MRT also figured in various technical problems, one of them resulted in one of the coaches overshooting the railway track and eventually ramming the barrier at the Pasay Rotunda.
Currently, Niwa revealed that Japan is financing the capacity enhancements of LRT Lines 1 and 2. Part of the discussion, he revealed, is the conduct of feasibility study for the North-South Commuter Project.
Initially, one of the recommendations from the Chinese experts are those categorized as ‘soft’ that include easy-to-use manuals, accident-prevention and training; and ‘hard’, improvement of traks and rolling stocks. “The mission emphasized the importance of developing a system that will analyze accidents like what Chinese transport safety institutions currently use,” he said.
It was recalled that a much-improved and efficient railway network is one of the focal points of the roadmap study of the Chinese government which was recently approved by the President. The roadmap lists down strategies and priorities that can be implemented by the Philippine government to decongest traffic, ensure seamless mobility, improve living standards, lessen air pollution and lessen transport cost burden for High-income groups in Mega Manila by 2030.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) chief representative Noriaki Niwa said experts from the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have already met with Philippine officials to discuss and map out points of improvements for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR). “This mission is part of the JICA’s ongoing cooperation to help improve the Philippine’s public transport system,” he said. “The experiences of China in railway operations will be useful to the Philippines,” he added.
China is known to be among the best in the operation of the railway system in the world while the Philippine government is currently at the receiving end of criticisms for what is perceived to be a lousy operation of the mass transport system in the country.
A number of railway deaths and injuries have been noted in the case of the PNR while the MRT also figured in various technical problems, one of them resulted in one of the coaches overshooting the railway track and eventually ramming the barrier at the Pasay Rotunda.
Currently, Niwa revealed that Japan is financing the capacity enhancements of LRT Lines 1 and 2. Part of the discussion, he revealed, is the conduct of feasibility study for the North-South Commuter Project.
Initially, one of the recommendations from the Chinese experts are those categorized as ‘soft’ that include easy-to-use manuals, accident-prevention and training; and ‘hard’, improvement of traks and rolling stocks. “The mission emphasized the importance of developing a system that will analyze accidents like what Chinese transport safety institutions currently use,” he said.
It was recalled that a much-improved and efficient railway network is one of the focal points of the roadmap study of the Chinese government which was recently approved by the President. The roadmap lists down strategies and priorities that can be implemented by the Philippine government to decongest traffic, ensure seamless mobility, improve living standards, lessen air pollution and lessen transport cost burden for High-income groups in Mega Manila by 2030.
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