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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippine National Railways (PNR) postponed the test runs scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 9 and 10, to ensure the safety of the state-run Metro Commuter service.
This renders tentative as well the scheduled partial resumption of the train service on June 15.
“It [test run] did not push through because works are still being done. We will announce this week whether we can meet the June 15 target or will wait for another week,” PNR spokesman Paul de Quiros said in a text message Tuesday.
PNR suspended the service after the southbound train was derailed on April 29, injuring at least 50 passengers.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) plans to resume the metro commuter train service from the Tutuban station in Manila to Calamba in Laguna on June 15, subject to the safety certification by TÜV Rheinland.
The Tutuban-Alabang-Calamba service was suspended to pave the way for an exhaustive inspection of its train tracks to ensure passenger safety after it broke down near its Nichols station.
About 100 personnel were deployed to inspect the rail tracks after investigations showed that missing angle bars, rail clips, and rail joints caused the accident.
The PNR is losing close to P800,000 ($17,893.50) a day due to the suspension of the train service, which also affects about 70,000 commuters per day mostly from the Laguna area.
The government is bidding out the P144.38-million ($3.29 million) rail track improvement of the PNR to revive Southeast Asia’s oldest railway system.
The project will add a second track to run parallel to the single track currently connecting the Sucat and Alabang stations. – Rappler.com
US$1 = P44.72
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