Soon, the streets of Cebu City will be favored with a modern road e-train designed to enhance transportation, ease commuting to places and lessen traffic in this metropolis. The hybrid electric road trains or E-trains donated by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will soon ply different routes in Cebu and be a regular sight in major roads.

How soon will this be implemented? As early as February 15 of this year, according to Cebu Provincial Science and Technology Director Samuel Parcon during an interview with a local TV station.

The road e-train has five coaches and uses battery consoles plus diesel fuel to run, according to a DOST primer on the vehicle. The fifth bus or section houses the battery packs. A road e-train can accommodate 240 passengers and is therefore seen as a key to decongesting traffic in the city and remedying mass transport needs.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said they didn’t ask for the road e-train, yet the DOST was willing to offer it for free. To this Osmeña expressed his gratitude.

In the proposed route scheme, the road e-train will traverse the Fuente Osmena rotunda (where it starts) and will go to Osmeña Boulevard. It will turn left to P. del Rosario Street and then proceed to Imus New Road. Then the e-train turns right to Gen. Maxilom Extension and turn right to S. Osmeña Avenue. Then it turns right to Commerce Street and turn right again to Benedicto Street.

After turning left and going back to Gen. Maxilom Extension, it will turn left to Imus New road and then go on straight to P. del Rosario Street. From there, it goes straight to N. Bacalso Avenue and turn right to V. Rama Avenue. Then it turns right to B. Rodriguez Street and then finally back to the where it came from—the Fuente Osmeña rotunda.

“This is the proposed route for the hybrid electric road train the city received. An articulated bus is difficult to accommodate in our streets, but I think this route will work out well,” Osmeña explained.

To see the efficacy of the e-train in negotiating roads, a test run was conducted in January 30 of this year. It negotiated the S. Osmeña Road with a small mobile car belonging to the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO). The accompanying small car was to make sure the road ahead was clear of other vehicles for the 40-meter e-train to maneuver, even when turning corners or around curves. On the following test runs, free rides were offered to the public, said Director Parcon.

The CCTO had suggested three routes more but later dismissed the idea, deciding that the routes were not fit for the road e-train.

But CCTO Executive Director Rafael Yap had told local media that as of the end of January, they still had to finalize the actual route.

“We will announce it soon, based on the testing and feedback from DOST,” Yap revealed.