Hybrid road train to offer free ride

CEBU, Philippines - Starting July, a hybrid electric road train will start plying Cebu City’s streets and carry passengers free of charge, an official from the Department of Science and Technology-7 said.

The train will pick up passengers from the Plaza Independencia to SM City Cebu at the North Reclamation Area, and vice versa, according to DOST-7 Director Edilberto Paradela.

Paradela made the remark on the sidelines of the opening of the Science and Technology Week at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City yesterday.

The blue-colored hybrid train is composed of five connected buses. It is powered by a 300kva generator and dry cell batteries designed by DOST’s Metal Industry Research and Development Center.

It costs P45 million and can accommodate up to 240 passengers.

Paradela said the road train will hit the streets of Cebu City for a year as part of DOST’s research on its viability as a transport system.

If the results of the study will be positive after a year, any private company or a local government unit can then purchase a new.

DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, who was in Cebu recently, said his department is willing to provide technical advice and local designs to Cebu City government if it wishes to adopt the train’s prototype.

De la Peña said the hybrid train was developed as substitute to a railway train. It operates not through the rails but via “dedicated lanes,” especially in places with high volume of passengers like Cebu City.

“Basta kailangan ma-identify kung ano ang route at ma-de-decide kung gusto talaga nila,” de la Peña said.

If the hybrid train should operate for good in the city, Mayor Tomas Osmeña already identified its route as follows: from the Fuente Osmeña rotunda down to Osmeña Boulevard, left to P. del Rosario Street, Imus New Road, right to General Maxilom Extension, right to S. Osmeña Avenue, and right turn to Commerce Street, then to Benedicto Street.

After Benedicto Street, the train should turn left to General Maxilom Extension, left to Imus New Road, straight to P del. Rosario Street, further to N. Bacalso Avenue, right to V. Rama Avenue, right to B. Rodriguez Street, then back to the Fuente Osmeña rotunda.

The hybrid train recently underwent repairs after floods damaged some of its parts. This after the impounding area of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) at the NRA, where the train was parked, is prone to flooding.

The vehicle has since been pulled out from its previous location and is now parked at the back of the Cebu Technological University in Cebu City

"Actually wala man gyud siya maguba. Naa lay nabasa nga mga parts. Preventive maintenance lang among gihimo. Pwede na siya magamit starting next month," said Paradela.

Once the test in Cebu is done, the train will then be brought to another part of the country for another testing, said Paradela. (FREEMAN)