The government, finally, is coming up with a national railway system to spur countryside development and decongest traffic in urban centers. The Philippines really requires a total railway system to speed up the flow of goods and services and achieve inclusive growth.
Philippine planners can take lessons from the experience of the United States after America built its first transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. The US railroad network revolutionized the economy, produced jobs and created allied industries and many economic opportunities.
President Rodrigo Duterte, in his first State of the Nation Address Monday, said his government would pursue train systems in Metro Manila and major key points in the country, including the Mindanao Rail Project. He revealed plans to build the Davao Transit System, Cebu Transit System, the North and South Luzon Railways and Panay Railways Project through a partnership with the private sector.
The Transportation Department in 2011 proposed to build a rail project that would span the whole Mindanao with a total length of 2,000 kilometers. Obviously, the proposal did not take off, like other similar infrastructure projects that never went past the planning stage during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III.
The railway system is one of the most efficient modes of transporting crops and other farm produce from the agricultural fields to major gateways like seaports and airports. It can significantly reduce freight cost when the goods are shipped by bulk and avoid road perils, especially during the rainy season. It is also a good alternative for the commuting public and offers a more predictable travel time when properly managed.
The rail system, moreover, is expected to decongest traffic. The plan of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. and a unit of Manila Electric Co. to invest P10 billion over two years to revive a container rail service from Manila to Calamba, Laguna is one example. The companies offered to operate a freight train service along the existing tracks of Philippine National Railways, or a minimum of eight round trips per day, with an average daily container transfer of 600 twenty-equivalent units from the ICTSI-owned Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal and vice versa.
The Duterte administration should pursue all these railway networks in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Philippines needs a total railway network to link every production center in all corners of the country to strategic markets.
