We have been writing about our need for a mass transport system, something we neglected in the past 50 years. We used to have a good commuter rail system called the tranvia, but it was not rehabilitated after World War 2.
Our commuter rail system consists of LRT 1 and 2, MRT 3, and a token PNR service to Calamba from Tutuban.
Our government has been totally inept in expanding what we have. It took San Miguel almost 10 years just to get government permission to build MRT 7, a PPP project at no cost to the taxpayers.
A four-kilometer extension of LRT 2 to Antipolo took some 10 years to complete even with no right of way problems. PNoy stopped the project and asked then DOTr Sec. Mar Roxas to do a market study to make sure it would be used. SM was building a mall in the Masinag area and that’s the only study needed if PNoy was after foot traffic. Then former transportation secretary Jun Abaya chopped up the contracts so that when he left office, the elevated carriageway was done, but no stations and no power lines. It took a few more years to complete.
The Arroyo administration signed a deal with China to build the NorthRail, a rail line from Tutuban to Clark, but the deal fell through as the costs kept on escalating from an initial $500 million to $2 billion, with nothing much to show by way of construction progress. DOF eventually paid the China Ex-Im bank about P5 billion to allow the new JICA-funded rail project to break ground.
Such are the perils of railway projects. Big-ticket rail projects are often tainted with corruption, our China deal is often cited as an example. There are other problems. There is always the possibility of projects becoming expensive white elephants.
India only had 229 kms of metro rail lines in four cities when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office. The Economist now reports that by last April, India’s network covered 870 kms in 18 cities, with another 1,000 kms or so under construction in 27 cities. The Economist observed: “although the speed and scale of India’s metro build-out over the past decade have been impressive, the associated passenger figures are dismal.
“Not one of India’s metro rail systems has achieved even half its projected ridership, according to a study of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. Only their own city’s network, which is the longest and most expansive in India, comes close, at 47 percent. In Mumbai and Kolkata, ridership is a third of what was projected. In most other cities it is in single or low double digits. In gridlocked Bangalore, India’s tech-and-traffic capital, a much-ballyhooed metro’s first line attracts just six percent of its projected ridership. That is despite the fact that the average speed for cars during Bangalore’s rush hour is 18 kph, the slowest of any major city, bar London, according to TomTom, a navigation-software firm… (Our EDSA rush hour traffic speed is between 16 to 20 kph).
“In keeping with the august tradition of Indian Railways, not a single metro system makes enough money to cover its expenses, according to another study by Sandip Chakrabarti at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.”
India also has our problem: as its middle class expands, those who can afford to are opting for the relative comfort of private vehicles. The result is worsening congestion and traffic pollution.
“Transport analysts and urban planners say India is backing the wrong horse. Bus services are far cheaper and more flexible for route-planning than metros. They can also be rolled out quickly. The emergence of electric buses has made them a greenish option, too. The best way to maximize these benefits is through dedicated bus lanes, known as a ‘bus rapid transit system’. (Our EDSA Busway is a poor imitation of a BRT system.)
“Yet attempts at building such systems have often failed, owing to poor implementation, half-hearted enforcement, resistance from motorists, and a lack of political will.” (Our EDSA Busway is taking too long to be made right).
The Economist laments: “The result is a slew of expensive transport infrastructure that is failing to attract passengers even as poorer commuters walk in the heat and richer ones idle in traffic…”
The story is different in Indonesia. The $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project, also known as “Whoosh,” has experienced significant success since it began operations last Oct. 17. The train has served a total of 1,028,216 passengers within just two months. The positive reception and high demand may signify a shift in public preferences towards faster and more efficient modes of transportation.
A recent survey suggested 48 percent of Whoosh passengers were previously using private cars to travel between Jakarta and Bandung before the high-speed train became operational.
The first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia began operating four years behind schedule and considerably over budget. “Whoosh” railway can reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. Trips between Jakarta and Bandung take three hours by conventional train or two hours by car. High-speed rail cuts the journey to only 40 minutes.
President Joko Widodo’s political drive for infrastructure development in Indonesia has brought remarkable results. Within nine years, his administration has built about 2,000 kilometers of toll roads. The Indonesian President gave true meaning to Build Build Build while all we got were press releases from Duterte and Mark Villar. Saliva. Saliva. Saliva.
For us, the big rail project we hope to see soon is the North South Commuter Railway (NSCR). Once completed, the 147-km NSCR will cut travel time from Clark Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna to less than two hours from four to 4.5 hours. The NSCR will traverse the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, and Laguna. At full capacity it will serve about a million passengers a day.
The Clark to Calamba train service will provide a needed service for Mega Manila commuters. It will become possible to live in less expensive nearby provinces, but work within the Metro Manila area. A reliable rail transport service will ensure they get to work on time and not be trapped in endless traffic jams.
Boo Chanco’semail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @boochanco.