Apathy and neglect may soon reduce the railway track operated by the Philippine National Railways to a national rubble.
The PNR has just suspended its Metro Manila train operations to give way to a thorough inspection of the tracks, after a coach traveling to Muntinlupa City derailed between the stations of Magallanes in Makati City and Nichols in Taguig City this week, resulting in the injury to at least 30 passengers.
The PNR operates the vital 28-kilometer-long (Tutuban-Alabang-Laguna) line system that ferries 60,000 to 70,000 passengers daily. The rail line, part of the original 1,100-km stretch that extended to La Union in the north and the Bicol region to the south, is an important alternative mode of transportation for students and low-wage earners.
The poor maintenance of the rail tracks, lack of state support and pilferage have slowly killed the transportation mode, one of the oldest railway systems in Asia. The PNR has already reduced the number of daily trips for the remaining line to 44 from 52, after pulling out one of the trains from the operating fleet because of the derailment.
Critics said gross negligence on the part of the PNR and the Transportation Department had caused the train to derail. Train Riders Network spokesman James Relativo noted that the rail system received minimal investment and subsidies from the national government and that most of the funds could barely cover the operation of the line, leaving nothing for expansion, modernization and rehabilitation.
Adding to the woes of the railway system is the increasing number of informal settlers living dangerously beside the rail tracks.
The government of President Aquino, which has boasted of the public-private partnership program to speed up the construction of key infrastructure projects, must make the rehabilitation of the PNR national rail line its priority. More importantly, the government should take immediate steps to restore the original route of the national railway from La Union to the Bicol region to make the PPP program more relevant and economic growth more inclusive.