Administration Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, concerned at urban commuters who have to endure everyday unbearable traffic and immense pollution, formally sought on Tuesday the creation of a railway authority that would unite and standardize the development of railways in the Philippines.

This came after Angara filed the Philippine Railway Act designed to solve the congestion and pollution in the metropolitan areas and the traffic problem in the major urban areas all over the country.

Through this measure, Angara said, a cheaper, faster, safer, and reliable mass transport system would be provided for commuters.

It would not decongest the metropolis, it would also reduce pollution in the cities,” Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, explained.

In Metro Manila, a major commercial and educational institutions center, commuters particularly those employees whose offices are located along the EDSA stretch, MRT serves as the most convenient, fastest and even the cheapest means to get to one’s destination.

For one, the MRT operates at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour running through EDSA’s 16.8-kilometer line.

Second, fare rates range from P11.00 to P15.00 only which is relatively cheaper compared to a busride from one point to another, along EDSA.

And if traffic is concerned, the train could transport the commuters from one point to another in an estimated span of 20 to 40 minutes.

In fact, according to reports, up to P15 billion is lost yearly because of lost man-hours, repairs, maintenance and lost fuel, not to mention the stressful environment that commuters have to bear when traveling.

‘‘The enactment of a National Railway Act has been overdue long before the food and fuel crisis that many countries of the whole world now suffer.

The Act will ensure an efficient and effective mass transport system nationwide that will facilitate the movement or people, goods and services
around the country,’’ Angara said.

Angara said a nation-wide railway system should be established in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao because it would accelerate national progress and prosperity and ensure the country’s global competitiveness.