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Manila rail lines' trolley boys

The daredevils and angels who deliver commuters from Manila's gridlock hell

Find out what are the risks "trolley boys" in Manila face when ferrying passengers on railway tracks.
Left: Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. Right: Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trol
Commuters on a trolley being pushed along a rail line in Manila's Sta Mesa district. It is a risky commute but saves them up to an hour in travelling time. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Left: Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. Right: Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trol
Commuter trains travel nearly two dozen times a day at one-hour intervals along the short stretch of railway that the trolley boys ply. Many trolleys have been run over by these trains. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS
Left: Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. Right: Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trol
Trolley boys dread crossing this rail bridge. If they get caught in the middle with a train on each side, the only way out is a 15m plunge into a river that is wide, deep, murky and fast-moving. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Left: Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. Right: Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trol
Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Left: Mr Benjie Barbosa, 35, pushed his first trolley in 1999, when he was just 15. He did it for five years, quit to become a farmer but was back pushing trolleys again in 2017. Right: Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trol
Most trolley boys have never gone past sixth grade. Pushing trolleys started out as a way for them to make money without having to be fluent in English or possessing specialised mechanical skills, and they have stuck with it. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Commuters on a trolley being pushed along a rail line in Manila's Sta Mesa district. It is a risky commute but saves them up to an hour in travelling time.
The trolleys are nothing more than rolling platforms made out of recycled wood, iron screws, nails and ball bearings. A beach umbrella provides scant protection from the sun and the rain. PHOTO: CRISTINA MENINA FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Heavy traffic in Makati City, south of Manila. Most people living in the Philippine capital spend a quarter of their waking life stuck in traffic caused by a creaking network of inadequate roads, highways and mass transit systems.
Heavy traffic in Makati City, south of Manila. Most people living in the Philippine capital spend a quarter of their waking life stuck in traffic caused by a creaking network of inadequate roads, highways and mass transit systems. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Raul Dancel  Philippines Correspondent In Manila
Updated
Sep 03, 2019, 07:19 AM
Published
Sep 03, 2019, 05:00 AM
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Picture a job where you have to dodge trains for $10 a day. That is exactly what Mr Benjie Barbosa does for a living.

Mr Barbosa, 35, and dozens of others - men, teens and boys - ferry scores of commuters each day on trolleys fashioned out of recycled wood, iron screws, nails and ball bearings along a 2km stretch of a busy rail line, an informal transport system that serves a poorer, more densely packed part of the Philippine capital Manila.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 03, 2019, with the headline Manila rail lines' trolley boys. Subscribe

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