The hybrid e-train had yet to be used after making its test run last July. It remains parked near the South Coastal Road tunnel. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
THE hybrid electric road train (e-train) that had been collecting dust along a lane of the southbound side of S. Osmeña Road in Cebu City may be removed from the area within this week.
Francisco Ouano, operations chief of the Cebu City Traffic Office (CCTO), reiterated this to the Cebu City Council after it passed a resolution last week that called for the removal of the P45-million e-train from the area.
A resolution filed by Councilor Joel Garganera called on both the CCTO and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to also submit a report on the hybrid train test evaluation to see if it remains viable for the city.
The e-train was supposed to be plying from Plaza Independencia to SM City Cebu and vice versa for free starting last July.
Instead, it remains parked near the Cebu South Coastal Road tunnel.
Garganera said the e-train has become a traffic obstruction for motorists who are on their way to the Plaza Independencia area where there is also a road project underway.
The e-train has five coaches and can accommodate up to 240 passengers.
“We will coordinate with DOST to remove it already as soon as possible. Maybe next (this) week,” Ouano said.
Ouano said the e-train can be transferred in the Sugbo building area in the South Road Properties where it can be parked without blocking traffic.
Ouano said their test runs showed that the e-train had difficulty maneuvering even in the wider roads of S. Osmeña since it is at least 40 meters long.
Once the e-train does make a turn, it would take up a portion of the opposite lane.
Ouano said this is one of the reasons why they could not implement the e-train yet.
The e-train arrived in Cebu from the Clark Freeport in Pampanga in December last year.
It was first parked at the old CCTO impounding area in the North Reclamation Area but it got flooded, prompting officials to transfer it along S. Osmeña Road. It also had to undergo preventive maintenance.
Ouano said they are not yet sure if the e-train could still be made to run in the city and where it could possibly do a route.