The illegal trolley ride along Manila's railway is dangerous. But it has an irresistible draw amid hard times: It's cheap and doesn't use oil. For years, dozens of desperate men in Manila's working-class district of Pandacan have used a two-mile (three-kilometer) stretch of state-owned rail that cuts through the congested community to ply their dangerous trade.
When no chugging trains are in sight, they sneak their eight-seat trolleys _ small, metal-wheeled carts with benches fashioned from scrap wood _ on the railway to ferry students, office workers and even policemen on short trips within Pandacan.
The power comes from brute strength. "I use my feet, my gasoline is my sweat," said Ryan Dejucodes, 28. A ride costs five pesos (10 US cents), much cheaper than open-sided jeepneys, smoke-belching buses, rickety taxis or the limited commuter train service. Dejucodes earns up to 200 pesos ($4) a day, barely enough to feed his family and afford his small luxuries: cigarettes and a bottle of beer.
Ruben Tiopes, a university student, said the slow ride still gets him to school faster than a circuitous ride in a jeepney. He does not mind travelling al fresco on the bare-bones trolley. "You can feel the wind, it's not hot," Tiopes said. "It's a big help because I save on money. And the ride is fast because there is no traffic."
Although illegal, the trolley service is ignored by authorities. The biggest worry is the constant danger, trolley operators say. Accidents, though rare, have caused deaths and injuries. The train comes every four hours. When one appears off-schedule, panic ensues.
Dejucodes recalled a near-death experience when his trolley narrowly escaped being hit by a train on an elevated railway. A passenger screamed in panic as the train approached. "I told her to calm down because the train will stop, but it did not," he said with a laugh. He and his two passengers lifted the trolley off the tracks just in time.
A government rail modernisation program could put the trolleys off the rails for good. Philippine National Railways Engineer Edgardo Remonte said newly acquired and much faster trains from South Korea will be tested early next year. The trolleys will be banned permanently for safety, and their operators will have to find other work.
Dejucodes said his family once lived in shantytowns that mushroomed along the Manila railway. Then they were demolished, and residents were moved to a nearby province where jobs were scarce. So Dejucodes returned to Manila and worked the trolleys.
The old memories of the harsh life by the rail seem pleasant now compared with the hardships that lie ahead. "I prefer the old trains and the times when our shanties were all here," Dajucodes said. "Those were the happiest times."