Ilagan City Mayor Josemarie Diaz and DOST Sec. Fortunato de la Pena (virtual) sign the memorandum of understanding on the hybrid electric road train project in the city on Wednesday.

CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela-The city government of Ilagan would start the fabrication of the Department of Science Technology (DOST)-developed Hybrid Electric Road Train (HERT).

 Ilagan City Mayor Josemarie Diaz and Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña led the virtual signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the hybrid electric train project on Wednesday afternoon.

The project will support efficient affordable, diversified, healthier mass transportation, as well as will complement existing transit programs and reduces local pollution, the DOST secretary said.

The fabrication would be done by a consortium, creating job opportunities, with students as among those who will help engineers and manufacturers, Mayor Diaz said.

The 40-meter-long hybrid train with five interlinked coaches was developed by the engineers of DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC). It could accommodate 220 passengers per coach. The train was called ‘hybrid’ because instead of just running on diesel fuel, HERT is also powered by electric batteries, which create lesser carbon emission compared to vehicles that run purely on gasoline or diesel.#