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IE FHILIPPINE StAR

news MoNDAY I ocroBER 14, 2O1e

Phl railway systems'way behind' international standards

The country's decades-old admitted before lawmakers. dards, it's between one to built by different brands from
-
allow motorists to park their
LRTA etcec
ernment units), especiall
three minutes," Hernando different countries. vehicles inside malls so as to for this coming holiday
ailway systems are way be- 'We a.e actually behind lessen traffic as the holiday son," he told members of
international standards in
rind the quality of those of its Cabrera, proiect engineer of "Chopsuey tayo eh. Please
\sian neighbors and well be- terms of the gap or sequence LRTA, said. tike note of the rolling stock. season approaches, according Sarmiento committee.
ow international standards, of trains. In Korea, I think He conceded before the And we have three train to Muntinlupa City ReP' Deputy Speaker Rane
rn official of the Light Rail they have it at 45 seconds. transportation committee of systems that have different Ruffy Biazon. Abu made a similar pi
."ransit Authority (LRTA) has But in international stan- the House of Representatives, brands and from different "I suggest that you discuss saying putting up rnulti-level
led by SamarRep. Edgat Mary tountries - from China, Eu- with mall owners the concePt parking buildings in each of
Sarmiento, that it normally rope, Germany etc," Sarmien- of Park and Ride. That's one the LRt or MRT stations will
takes the Metro Rail Transit to said. "We can't even inter- way of freeing the roads. All somehow ease the horren-
(MRI) and Light Rail Transit connect them, they have dif- these ideas are meant to re- dous traffic noi just the com-j
(LRI) lines and coa6hes seven ferent tracks." duce dlost of the vehicles on r"t"" but motodstsl
to 10 minutes, sometimes even 'We cannot even use 6ur the roads which are contfibut- l*".li.
longer, for the neft train to Dalian trains from China be- ing much to the traffic along "We have to make our trainl
arnve. our major thoroughfares," he systems more efficient. Tha{
cause they donlt even fig" he
"But we're doing some- added. pointed out. is the true test of a developed]
thing about it now," Cabrera, The lawmaker added that Biazon sought to address economy," Abu said as hel
a lawyer by profession said the current traffic situation the issue to both the DePart- pointed out that having the
recently, referring to the LRI- amounts to a "serious crisis" ment of the Interior and Local most number of cars is not the
1 line (Baclaran-Monumento and calied on the transPort Government (DILG) whose real barometer for a country's
route) that is now 35 years sector to take necessary ac- jirrisdiction covers the archi- affluence, but for its citizens'
old, LRI-2 (Marikina-Divisoria tions. pelago, and Metropolitan Ma- ability to avail themselves of
route) that is 1.6 and the MRT-3 nila Development Authority mass transport.
(EDSA stretch) which is two 'Park & Ride' for the entire capital. In first-world economies
decades old.
scheme in malls DILG UndersecretarY like japan, Singapore and
Sarmiento lamented how Big shopping malls in Epimaco Densing was re- Hong Kong, even the rich get
the train systems cannot be Metro Manila and in maior ceptive to the idea. "We to ride the trains along with the
interconnected due to differ- cities nationwide where will suggest that (Park and working class.
ences in strucfure as these were traffic is prevalent, should Ride) to LGUs (local gov- - Delon Porcalla

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