Excerpts from Mr. Oda’s report:

The Railways and Industrial Heritage Society of the Philippines (RIHSPI), the national organisation, was established just three years ago. In that short time a couple of American-built heritage railcars and a signal box have been restored, and work is about to start on a new project, the first railway museum in the Philippines.

Recruiting youngsters is a common problem for heritage railways in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan, but many members of RIHSPI are in their enthusiastic 20s – it seems that they have a bright future.

Kyoichi Oda

Mr. Oda visited the Philippines last June 2011 to discuss the formation of an Asia-Oceania umbrella organization for heritage and tourist railway organizations. RIHSPI was invited to be the Philippine representative and co-founder of the organization. This organization shall be a member of the World Association of Tourist Trams & Trains, ensuring a worldwide linkage to promote the heritage and tourist railways in the Asia-Oceania sector together in mutual prosperity.

Full link to Mr. Oda’s report can be found here.

The video reminds people on how beautiful and wonderful our railway system was, and how can it be an inspiration, or even a catalyst for the improvement of our railway infrastructure.

The video feature was produced by RIHSPI Trustee, Juan Carlos Salamat as part of his college thesis. It is distributed through the Reese Channel.

Members and interested people are invited for a coffee session at a coffee shop of choice easily accessible by mass transport. There, RIHSPI officers will explain the goals and objectives of the Society, as well as guidelines to follow as a member of the group. The sessions aim to foster a community forged by closeness and unity in ideals.

The RIHSPI Kapihan series are regularly announced via the Society’s Facebook page and the Reese Forums.

President Karel Brouwers, Vice President Alberto Nual, Treasurer Jaime Tiongson, and Trustees Victor Dennis Nierva and Juan Carlos Salamat were included in the delegation. The RIHSPI officers took the opportunity to sit down with the PNR management to discuss various heritage projects.

The RIHSPI delegation to the fourth PNR Bicol trial run.

The trip took around 9 hours and 50 minutes, setting a record for the PNR test runs. RIHSPI members provided documentation support, taking note of arrival times, slowdown points, and track obstructions. RIHSPI also conducted interviews with test passengers and PNR officials, gathering insights about the new face of the Bicol Express which is due to resume this June 2011.

These interviews are included in the second episode of the Reese Channel, entitled Sleeper Coach Insights.

Sa tindi ng traffic sa Metro Manila, mas maginhawang sumakay sa tren — iwas-abala dahil mas mabilis ang biyahe. Kaya nga ang makabagong mga tren katulad ng LRT at MRT, kahit laging siksikan, mas pinipili pa ring sakyan. Kamustahin naman natin ang mga tren na biyaheng-probinsya sa Assignment Pilipinas.