Manila, Sept. 18 -- The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects the country's major railway lines to eventually carry as many as 5 million passengers daily, putting mass transit at the center of its PHP300.96-billion proposed budget for 2027.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez told a Senate budget hearing Friday that combining the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), Metro Manila Subway, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Lines 3 and 7, and other rail systems eould significantly divert commuters from roads to trains.

"Kapag 'yan po lahat nagsama-sama at operational po, ang makikinabang na po sa tingin namin, (Once all of those are integrated and operational, we estimate) five million passengers everyday using that railway system," Lopez ...