Deferred in 2015, PNR fare hike takes effect July 1

The country’s oldest train system will be charging more starting July 1 as it implements its first fare increase in over two decades.

From P10, the minimum fare for the first 14 kilometers would now be P15. An additional P5 would be charged for every succeeding seven kilometers.

The Department of Transportation said the increase adjusted the fare structure from P0.71 per kilometer to P1.07 per kilometer.

A commuter who would board a PNR train from Tutuban station in Manila to Mamatid station in Cabuyao, Laguna, for example, would have to pay P55, up from the current P40.

PNR general manager Junn Magno on Saturday said the fare increase was based on a December 2014 PNR board resolution which called for the adjustment since the state-run train service had “become financially uncompetitive” compared to other mass transport systems like buses and jeepneys.

“We are only implementing a fare increase that has been long delayed for more than 20 years,” Magno said in a statement.

There was supposed to be a fare increase in 2015 but it was put on hold after meeting strong opposition from various groups and commuters, who noted that it coincided with the rate hikes of the three other train lines in Metro Manila—
Light Rail Transit 1 and 2, and Metro Rail Transit 3.

With the upcoming increase, the PNR management is expecting to raise additional revenue for the maintenance of its existing rolling stock, tracks and operating stations.

At present, only six trains are serving the estimated 45,000 passengers of the PNR daily.

Current PNR operations are limited only up to Mamatid after problems cropped up five years ago concerning the structural integrity of San Cristobal bridge, which extends the line up to Calamba station also in Laguna, according to PNR spokesperson Josephine Geronimo.