Senator assails ‘tyranny of the automobile,’ says trains key to solving congestion

SENATOR Jose Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Monday said government should speed up the expansion and rehabilitation of the country’s railway systems to decongest traffic in Metro Manila. 

The chairman of the Senate finance committee also said he would explore ways to support the programs of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), a report published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the senator as saying in a statement released Monday.

Among DOTr’s projects are the rehabilitation of the MRT-3, the revival of the Philippine National Rail (PNR) trains, and the development of a subway system.

Angara expressed optimism over the first phase of the Metro Manila subway system, set to start in November, the Inquirer said. When completed the subway will connect Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

During a briefing on the proposed P147 billion budget of the DOTr for 2020, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade acknowledged that increasing the number of trains within and outside of Metro Manila is key to reducing the volume of vehicles on major roads.

But rehabilitating the railways would be very challenging based on the data presented by the DOTr, the Inquirer quoted Angara as saying.

In 1938, at the peak of the railway system in the country, there were 2,400 kilometers of railroad tracks across the country. Now, there are only 77 kilometers left, including the MRT and LRT lines, according to the Inquirer.

“We have regressed. That is the tyranny of the automobile. So I think we need to reboot our thinking,” Angara said.

The MRT-3 on EDSA is set to be rehabilitated, as well as the LRT-1 extension to Cavite and the PNR. 

“Many of these projects will not be completed by the end of President Duterte’s term in 2022. But we have to get to work on this now so that the public will be able to benefit from these at the soonest possible time,” Angara said.