The Philippine National Railways deployed on Monday six modern Indonesian rail cars or two train sets that increased the daily capacity of the line by 13,500 passengers.
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The Department of Transportation said the six brand-new diesel multiple unit rail cars from Indonesia increased the capacity of PNR to 73,500 passengers a day from the previous 60,000 passengers.
Manufactured by Indonesian company PT-INKA, the six brand-new DMU train cars were converted into two train sets of three railcars each. They are expected to add 18 to 20 more trips per day on the line’s routes from Tutuban (Manila) to FTI (Taguig City) and from Malabon to FTI.
The PNR’s metro line runs from Tutuban in Manila to Los Baños, Laguna.
The two train sets aim to accommodate 13,500 additional passengers daily, bringing the total capacity of PNR from 60,000 to 73,500 passengers per day.
Each of the new rail cars can carry 250 passengers. A total of 750 passengers can be accommodated in the three rail cars per trip.
“This is the manifestation of all our hard work and the start of the transformation of Philippine railways. And this is the reflection of the leadership this country have today, starting with the President, with our [Transportation] Secretary and the people behind this success,” PNR general manager Junn Magno said.
Magno said the two trains sets arrived ahead of the original February 2020 schedule.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade commended the PNR for actively working on the improvement of operations and services. Tugade said that through the efforts of PNR, the number of operating stations increased to 37 from only 14 when he assumed office in 2016.
“Today, we are gathered here not only to take a ride on the train but also to celebrate the transformation that is coming up and coming in, in so far as the PNR is concerned. Today, let’s celebrate the transformation,” Tugade said.
The PNR signed a deal last year with PT INKA for the purchase of new rail cars and locomotives. This is the first batch of the 37 rail cars and three locomotives to be delivered to the country.
The remaining rail cars will be delivered by batches in 2020.
Once all these new train sets are operational, the PNR targets to serve 140,000 passengers per day or more than double the current capacity of 48,000 to 60,000 passengers daily.