Two train sets from Indonesia to arrive between end-August, early September —PNR

Two of the nine train sets purchased by the Philippines from Indonesia are expected to arrive in the country in the next few weeks, an official of the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

Philippine National Railways (PNR) general manager Junn Magno said the two train sets will be delivered between end of August and first week of September.

“Ang inaantay lang namin iyong matapos iyong commissioning plus iyong weather kung makakadaan iyong barko at makakapag-unload kami sa pier; and then, the rest will be delivered in batches until December,” Magno said at a news conference in Malacañang.

The PNR earlier purchased nine new train sets from Indonesian state-owned company PT Industri Kereta Api (PT INKA) for around P2.9 billion. It was the first time in four decades that the PNR bought new trains through its own budget.

Magno also said some old trains were undergoing rehabilitation.

“Papalitan po natin iyong mga livery nila, iyong mga colors nila para po ma-refresh naman iyong itsura niya, hindi na iyong madumi na itsura,” he said.

“We’re taking huge transformation sa loob ng workshop namin para mabago namin iyong mga processes namin at ma-maintain iyong reliability ng mga trains na luma at saka iyong bago.”

The PNR said in August last year that it was aiming for 14 train sets by the end of 2019 to serve approximately 120,000 passengers per day from the current 50,000 for its commuter line spanning from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba in Laguna. —LDF, GMA News