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Here’s hoping something comes out of this.
“Senator JV Ejercito recently filed Senate Bill No. 2690 or the proposed Philippine National Railways (PNR) Modernization Act,” reports Hannah Torregoza in Tempo.
The report noted: “Ejercito said that while the PNR’s corporate life was extended for another 50 years on June 16, 2014, it continues to incur more losses as it runs more trips.”
The senator stated, “This can be attributed to its purely manual operations as well as its aged and obsolete train system, equipment, and facilities, resulting to poor operating potentials and high leakage rate.” He likewise pointed out that “the PNR suffered a cash deficit of PHP85,464,170 for the first half of 2014.”
The report explained that “under the bill, the PNR will also be allowed to enter into a joint venture with a qualified private sector partner that will provide the maintenance and operation support and to allow the PNR’s established sinking fund to be used for the development of tracks and new railway routes.”
Photo: dzRH website
