Of an engineer’s blessings, fulfillment, and gratitude

MANILA, Philippines — You leave the house early in the morning. You are taking the train to go to work. There are people lined up at the ticket booth, looking fresh and ready for a long day. You pay for your ticket and proceed to the loading platform. The train arrives a few minutes later. You see that there are already passengers inside the train, but there is still room for more. You immediately feel the sweet-smelling cold air coming from the air-conditioned coach as the door opened. You help an elderly find a seat. You stand at the middle part of the coach and hold on to a handrail. The doors close, and the train sets off for the next station. Two stations away and precisely 24 minutes later, you get off and walk about five minutes to the workplace.

Your officemates, who also ride the train to work, start to arrive. Like you, they come to work recharged from a good night’s sleep. They arrive at the office looking fresh, wearing well-ironed uniforms. Although work at the office becomes too hectic and stressful, no worries. You are still on top of things. You wrap up a productive and eventful day.  It has been a long day, and you can’t wait to spend some quality time with the family.  You take that five-minute walk back to the train station.  The screen on the platform says the train will leave at 5:03.  You wait. You hear the familiar horn announcing the arrival of the train. At 5:02, you and the other passengers waiting at the platform board the train. The train leaves a minute later, taking you home safely and comfortably.        

Then you wake up. It was all a dream.

I am one of the thousands of Filipinos who ride the train daily. I share with the commuters their woes. Mornings are already filled with a disappointing routine that dampens the spirits of an otherwise optimistic worker: long lines at the ticket booth, hours of waiting by the platform, and frequent cancellations of trips without prior notice. The many hours of waiting make all of us tired, sweaty, and irritable. Not an ideal way to start the day.  Worse, the unpredictable travel time makes us late for work, sometimes even absent.

But as ordinary train riders, what can we do?  We fall prey to the worsening situation of our public transportation: canceled trips, unreliable train service, and technical issues, among others. Life is hard for us commuters riding the train.  We need to understand because there are too few trains. Too few and too old. Commuting from place to place is always a struggle. It is an experience we dread every single day. And the Filipinos’ understanding and patience are running thin.

This situation is what we want to change through the Hybrid Electric Train (HET).

In this world, where challenges abound, I still consider myself blessed. I am an engineer working at the DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC). I am blessed in many ways. I was tapped to lead the HET project, which started in 2013. I had the chance to work with many engineers from various fields: mechanical engineers checking all the train’s moving parts; electrical engineers making sure that all electrical requirements are supplied; electronics and communications engineers setting up all the necessary controls. I am blessed to be right where all the action is! 

Our engineering geniuses were put to the test by the HET project. My blessing is not only confined to working with the best team at the DOST-MIRDC. The technical staff of the PNR worked with us, too.  As partners, the development of the HET became a symbol of sorts for both the DOST-MIRDC and the PNR — unity, love for country, desire to help, empathy for the tired commuters, and the motivation to improve our present circumstances. 

To my engineer’s heart, the HET project was all of these and more. I felt our willingness to be part of the solution to a pressing national problem. I knew that beneath the aspiration to come up with a mass transportation alternative is the urge in all of us to make Filipinos proud. I felt that we were bound together by a deep sense of purpose — to give the tired and disillusioned Filipinos a break we all deserve: the break from misery, from poverty, from the daily life we have come to paint as one enveloped by hopelessness.   

Somewhere along with the HET’s development, I made a pact with myself. We are going to complete the HET. We will make this part of the Filipino’s history a resounding success. Fast forward to 2019.

All the years of work devoted to the HET paid off. The HET followed its course as planned. Design, development, testing, validation, acceptance, and turnover. It now belongs to the PNR and will be inserted into their commercial operations very soon. Before we know it, the dream of a safe, comfortable, and punctual commute is no longer an elusive dream but a reality that greets us every day. I encourage Filipinos all over the world to look at the HET and be inspired.  Let the HET open our eyes to what we are capable of doing.

I said that I am blessed. I am positive that the HET will bring many great possibilities to the Filipinos, including the creation of our very own railway industry, generation of jobs, and building of new capabilities. Through the HET, I found my purpose as an engineer. I am part of a government organization that proactively serves the public. I am working with the best engineers — the most creative problem-solvers of our time. With all these wonderful blessings, I have to check if I am still dreaming, yet I find myself fully awake. I pause in quiet reflection. With amusement and content, I say my prayers. I am thankful to the One up there whose grace made all of these happen. I am an engineer. Blessed, fulfilled, and grateful. — Pablo Acuin

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Engr. Pablo Q. Acuin is the project leader of the Hybrid Electric Train (HET) program that will serve as a long-term solution to heavy traffic congestions in many parts of the country, particularly in Luzon.