Since the kick-off of the conduct of the Refresher Training (RT) Course last October 21, 2019, the Philippine Railways Institute (PRI) issued 485 certificates of competencies to the existing railway lines in the country.

The RT Course is a five-day training program that aims to enhance the industry-level understanding of railway operations and maintenance for existing railway personnel tackling core values, operations and maintenance technical knowledge, and specialized skills on train operations, passenger management, fare, and ticketing management, and railway maintenance.

When COVID-19 hit the country, PRI shifted the delivery of the RT Course to an online platform to continuously support the railway sector. The Web Refresher Training WRT) Course was launched in July 2020 in lieu of the face-to-face RT Course to continuously fulfill its mandate of building the capacity of the Philippine railway personnel despite the pandemic.

The PRI is established through Executive Order No. 96 s. 2019 mandating the institution to plan, regulate, implement, and serve as an administrative entity for the development of human resources in the railway sector, to ensure efficient, reliable, and safe railway transportation services.