The Metro Manila traffic, along with adjacent cities, towns, and municipalities, are such a headache especially to people who go to and fro because of their jobs and businesses. So, one thing that the government thought of is to create alternatives. This is why our dear President Duterte approved projects that would be for the betterment of our country’s public transportation system.
In recent posts, we always talked about the fact that the country’s transportation system is going to be improved; improved in a way that there will be better, more efficient, and more comfortable ways of commuting. There are tons of projects that the Duterte Administration promised and one of that would be the Metro Manila Subway.
What is the Metro Manila Subway?
To give you some sort of a brief refresher, the Metro Manila Subway would be a subway dedicated to connecting people from all over different parts of Luzon to the Central Business District (CBD) Metro Manila.
If you want a better and a clearer picture of how it will look like, you can refer to this link by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). As per the proposal, the route of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) would start at the Mindanao Avenue – Quirino Highway, Quezon City. It would meet its end in FTI, Taguig City and an additional depot in Brgy. Ugong, Valenzuela City. We’re not sure though, whether or not this will come to life; one thing is for certain, the construction will be started today and we do hope that the traffic is not that bad.
Read: The New Makati Subway and How it can Change Transportation in Metro Manila
More so, there will be a total of fifteen (15) underground stations which will pass through six (6) different cities in the National Capital Region (NCR). These cities would be:
- Quezon City (start of the route)
- Valenzuela City (for the depot)
- Makati City
- Pasig City
- Taguig City
- Paranaque City (a small portion of it)
This proposal was just finalized last year and finally, this year, they will start the construction of the MMSP. Today, however, is the dated schedule on when the Metro Manila Subway will be started.
Filipino-Japanese consortium, Shimizu Joint Venture, which is composed of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Company Ltd. and EEI Corp., who would be leading the project and as per them, we might have the advanced train system similar to Hong Kong and Japan by the year 2025.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that the company/ies handling the project are fit for it and will lead in the construction of the first three (3) underground stations.
The Shimizu Joint Venture will be pursuing the design and build of the subway’s partial operability section, which consists of its first three underground stations (Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora and North Avenue), tunnel structures, the Valenzuela depot, and the building and facilities for the Philippine Railway Institute.”
On their websites, members of the company mentioned that they were previously part of several transportation projects like the Subway of the Tokyo station Fujita as well as both the Metro Rail Transit System (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit System (LRT).
As per the Department, the first three (3) stations will be constructed along Tandang Sora, North Avenue, and Quirino Highway. More so, they said that the construction of these first stations would also include tunnel structures, and the Valenzuela depot, plus the facilities and buildings for the Philippine Railway Institute (PRI).
Read: Philippine Railway Network to be up for Expansion for Economic Policy
What does the government want out of the Metro Manila Subway (MMS)?
The government is looking at the MMS as the most expansive and the most advances railway system in our country. It will span a length of thirty-six (36) kilometers and will have a total of fifteen (15) stations from Quirino Highway to the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Pasay, and in FTI in Taguig City.
People from Makati, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), and Ortigas should not worry because as per the DOTr, there will also be stations located in major Central Business Districts (CBDs).
Arthur Tugade, DOTr Secretary said that after a long time, people of the Philippines will finally see an advanced way of transportation.
Our countrymen will finally see that the dream of a railway system running underground in this country is soon becoming a reality. Of course there will be some inconvenience along the way, but that is nothing compared to the long-lasting comfort this project will bring to the Filipino people.”
Meanwhile, Yoshio Wada, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative said that it is of their honor to be of assistance to implement the newest, the most advanced, and the most efficient project that would further enhance the country’s transportation system.
It is our honor to assist the government of the Philippines to implement this historical flagship project in Metro Manila. We appreciate the fact that our Japanese technology will be utilized for this project and make Filipino people’s life better by mitigating congestion in the city with safe and punctual Japanese railway culture.”
The MMS would be the first ever railway that is underground in the country. This project is expected to accommodate passengers up to a total of 370,000 daily. Once it starts, it has the expectations of serving up to a total of 1.5 million passengers per day when it is fully operational. If you’re wondering about its speed, it will be designed to traverse at a maximum of 80 kilometers per hour.
Budget-wise, as per the government, both Japan and the Philippines has signed the first tranche of this project. Based on the data they released, the budget would be P366.6 billion and they would apply for a loan to make the MMSP happen. In this time, our country signed an estimate of ¥104.53-billion (about P51.34 billion) loan agreement for the construction of the first (1st) phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).
Read: Future Projection of Railway Public Transport Around The Metro
What do you think about the Metro Manila Subway Project? Would this somehow ease the current traffic situation our country has? Or would this cause too much complexity and further worsen the commute experience of people on a daily basis? Hopefully, these projects would further improve both the economy and the state of public transport of our country.