The Department of Transportation on Tuesday said digitalization and technology-driven innovations are important components to the country’s railway system and the aspiration to rival Japan’s.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a statement that in order for the Philippine railway system to achieve enhanced system efficiency, “we need to embrace this digital evolution towards a people-centric transport sector transformation.”
“It is imperative that we upgrade areas where bottlenecks in the sector occur and implement proper infrastructure to increase capacity,” Bautista said.
According to the transport chief, the DOTr will prioritize digitizing the railway sector and improving its manpower through the Philippine Railway Institute (PRI).
“Digitizing Philippine railway operations means building a solid and fully connected technology stacked rail sector.,” he said.
Keeping in step with the technological advancements will also improve the sector’s efficiency, Bautista added.
By equipping railway human resources—operators, engineers, and other personnel— with the latest technology, the railway sector can develop new and better services to passengers.
Bautista said the state-of-the-art training simulators at the PRI from the Japanese government represents an introduction to digitalization as the country pursues mega railway projects like the MRT-7, the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), the Metro Manila Subway Project, and LRT-1 Cavite Extension.
The PRI is a research and training center building capacities for personnel in the railway sector.
