SMALL businesses stand to gain from the revitalized Philippine National Railway (PNR), as entrepreneurs living in areas straddling the country’s train system can transport their products at a lower cost, the state monopoly said.

Manuel Andal, PNR general manager, said the multimillion-dollar rehabilitation of the Caloocan-to-Alabang rail system would be fully operational before the end of the year.

Andal said the initial operations of the newly refurbished train would start tomorrow, running from Tutuban in Manila to Bicutan in the southern part of the metropolis. Tutuban is home to numerous discount wholesalers and retailers whose cheap wares end up as merchandise for neighborhood entrepreneurs in and around Metro Manila.

The PNR official said that two trains with three-coaches each will operate starting tomorrow.

“Our initial target for the first year of operation is 100,000 passengers a day and it’s expected to increase by half a million a day in the future,” he said.

The rehabilitation of trains and railway tracks from Caloocan to Calamba, Laguna was funded by Korean official development assistance (ODA) amounting to $59 million.

The project has two phases, the first of which involves the rehabilitation of all train stations and tracks running from Caloocan to Alabang, as well as the deployment of 21 brand new air-conditioned diesel multiple units (DMUs).

The second phase involves the rehabilitation of tracks and train stations from Alabang-to-Calamba as well as the deployment of 18 brand new DMUs.

The project would also involve the repair and reconstruction of existing bridges in Pandacan, Manila and in Alabang, as well as the installation of signaling and communication facilities.

Once completed, the average travel time from end to end would improve to between 30 and 35 minutes. The project would also entail fielding 21 new diesel railcars to accommodate 187,000 passengers a day.

PNR operates passenger train services in Metro Manila as well as in the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Camarines Sur and Albay. In the past, it also served Cavite and the northern provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and La Union.