PNR dead in its tracks
By: Apolonio G. Ramos, Contributor
Philippine Daily Inquirer
9:37 pm | Friday, April 13th, 2012
A vital factor in enhancing the economic development of our country is a modern railway system for Luzon. The Philippine National Railways is in its death throes and resources applied towards its resurrection is tantamount to investing in a sink hole.
It originated when Don Edmundo Sykes, an Englishman, was awarded the concession for the Manila-Dagupan line on Jan. 21, 1887. Subsequently, the concession was transferred to the Manila Railroad Co. Ltd. in London.
MRR inaugurated the first 195-kilometer railway service from Manila to Dagupan, Pangasinan, on Nov. 24, 1892, under Spanish rule. With the American occupation, the English company of New Jersey, built 792.5 kilometers of new lines from 1902 to 1916. Suffering serious financial losses, the English owners sold the railway system to the US government for P8 million in cash and P53.9 million in bonded indebtedness.
Extended
In 1929, the railway was extended to San Fernando, La Union. During the Commonwealth period, President Manuel L. Quezon extended the line to Legazpi, Albay.
Before retreating to Bataan in December 1941, USAFFE CIC Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered the destruction of locomotives, rolling stocks, shop equipment and other facilities. The rapid advance of the Japanese forces prevented the planned destruction of the system. Filipino personnel continued to operate the railway under Japanese supervision.
After Liberation, damage was estimated at P30 million. The US government granted a measly P3 million for war damage. This threadbare compensation hardly made a dent on the reconstruction of the damaged railway.
On independence day, July 4, 1946, the Philippine government injected P20 million to the system. This was hardly enough to put the railway back on its feet, resulting in a loss of P3.1 million in 1953.
However, President Ramon Magsaysay improved the management, funding and operations in 1954. For the first time in 16 years, MRR declared a net profit of P540 million in 1956. This coincided with the conversion from steam to diesel-electric operation.
After this, the MRR began to lose money again. In 1964, MRR was renamed Philippine National Railways. The downslide continued. Since 1986, rehabilitation on a piecemeal basis, backed by loans from OECF, proved futile.
The PNR should be privatized. The government should relinquish its hold on the moribund railway system. A privately owned railway is far superior to one owned and operated by the government.
Superior
Three companies is far superior to one owned and operated by the government. Three companies or consortia will each build and operate one of three main lines, inclusive of spur and commuter lines. The three main lines are: the Ilocos or Northwestern Sector; the Cagayan Valley or Northeastern Sector; and the Southern Tagalog and Bicol Line.
From a Grand Central Station in Quezon City, the three lines will radiate towards their end points, i.e., Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte for the Ilocos Line; Aparri, Cagayan for the Cagayan Valley Line; and Matnog, Sorsogon for the Southern Tagalog and Bicol Line. Spur and connecting lines will be established.
The Standard Railroad Gauge (1425 mm) should be adopted over the present Cape Town Gauge (1067 mm), resulting in an increase in the gap between rails by 358 mm (14-1/8). The Standard Gauge measures 4-8-1/8 between rails. It is universally used, carries heavier loads, sustains higher speeds, and is safer in negotiating turns.
Stronger and firmer rail beds should be installed, along with heavier and larger 80-lb rails on all main lines.
Power sources
One-way tracks are dedicated to uni-directional travel and double tracks allow two trains to pass each other any time, avoiding collisions. The double track system prevents delays when a train waits for another that is expected to arrive on the same track. While waiting, it is shunted to an idle track.
There are three sources of power for locomotives to choose from: diesel-electric, electric, and natural gas. The latter is in abundant supply in the Philippines.
Our government should get other countries interested in the venture, specially those with well established and modern railway systems.
The Philippine National Railways is dead in its tracks.
(Apolonio G. Ramos, 87, a resident of Marikina City, is a retired mechanical engineer. He was a former manager at Philippine Refining Company. His interest lies in writing about education, transportation and political events.)
This is in response to the article, PNR dead in its tracks, by contributor Apolonio G. Ramos (Inquirer, 4/14/12).
The articles main premise is that a modern railway system is a vital factor in enhancing the economic development of the country. It goes on to say in the same sentence that the Philippine National Railways is in its death throes, and resources applied to its resurrection is tantamount to investing in a sink hole.
It proposes the PNRs complete privatization. Or, it adds, get other countries interested in the venture, especially those with well-established and modern railway systems, and concludes that the PNR is dead in its tracks.
But the PNRs rumored death would seem a strange notion to the thousands of passengers clamoring for it to increase its initial trips and trains during its present rehabilitation. The Christmas, Holy Week and September Peñafrancia Festival peak seasons in the past two years are witnesses to the PNR barely responding to demand.
Bicolanos can speak for themselves about this. They wonder how such an apparent miracle as the resurrection of their beloved trains and railroad could happen after decades of neglect. And all these within the past two years under the leadership of President Aquino and Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas.
There is really no debate on privatization of some kind. But complete privatization is problematic. Let us make some distinctions about motivations for investment. Private business is always driven by profit. That is its raison detre. Government invests in a nations economic assets and public utilities driven by its service mandate.
Government can share, as it does, in grand visions for a modern railway network connecting the cardinal points of Luzon, or even of the whole archipelago. But to leave it completely to private business to build railroad lines to unprofitable out-of-the-way places might be too much to expect.
Even Japans famous Shinkanzen network was conceived and initiated by Japan National Railways in the 1930s, and not by Sony or Mitsubishi.Indias extensive but aging railway system, a legacy of British rule, should have stopped running if it were left to the private sector. Railways crisscross Europe because of government initiative. There are very few railway systems in the world that are privately owned.
The Aquino administration advocates public-private partnership for big public-utility projects such as the railroad and transport. It is working now for the PNR. And the PNR is earning its keep, not to make profit but to make its operations sustainable for the thousands of passengers in South Luzon and Bicol it now serves, and even those in the north who await the full rehabilitation of the North Line.
The PNR is running. Despite those who would kill it or strip it of its assets, it is not dead. Indeed, it has been reborn. With private-sector participation, let us keep it on track to ultimate modernization and global standards, to better serve all Filipinos.
JUNIO M. RAGRAGIO,
general manager,
Philippine National Railways,
PNR Executive Building,
Mayhaligue Street,
Tondo, Manila 1000
MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine National Railway train bound for Manila was derailed yesterday morning in Muntinlupa City as extreme heat caused the tracks to expand, a PNR official said.
Superintendent Porfirio Calagan, officer-in-charge of the Muntinlupa police, said the train was approaching San Simon Compound about 10 a.m. when the train wheels were detached from the track.
None of 100 passengers were hurt, PNR general manager Junio Ragrario said in a phone interview with The STAR.
The tracks expanded because of the heat. Extreme heat was the culprit. The rail became distorted, causing the wheels to detach, Ragrario said.
Over the past few days, the weather has surpassed 36 degrees Celsius.
Ragrario explained that rails can become distorted and cause derailment as they usually expand in hot weather or shrink when cold. To prevent this, the PNR places clippers around the track.
However, more than 100 clips have been stolen here, Ragrario said, adding that they have installed replacements but these are not enough.
Ragrario said the PNR has warned drivers to slow down because they have seen the tracks expand as early as 6 a.m. At that time, however, the rails were still passable.
About 20 meters of track were replaced yesterday in repairs that lasted more than an hour. In a separate interview, an operator from the PNR said the track was temporarily passable as of 3:50 p.m.
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