The railway connection
In their quest to address urban gridlock, governments and policymakers make diligent efforts to identify effective solutions. They actively promote the construction of toll roads, alternative highways, and rail networks by engaging private companies. Additionally, they implement decongestion policies by offering fiscal incentives to businesses that establish themselves outside of the urban centers.
THe phenomenon of fast urbanization in Asian cities, such as Metro Manila, is most vividly illustrated by the presence of towering skyscrapers, extensive networks of toll roads, stateof-the-art airports, and efficient high-speed rail services.
A growing population in these urban cities, however, has created many challenges to local officials. The continuous migration of workers from the countryside to metropolises, the spike in vehicle sales and restricted land spaces have all contributed to traffic jams.
Metro traffic per se is not bad—it reflects increased economic activities and an active working class with purchasing power that confirms the nation’s high level of employment rate. But left unresolved, our traffic jam can lead to an urban decay and chaos, and negate economic progress.
In their quest to address urban gridlock, governments and policymakers make diligent efforts to identify effective solutions. They actively promote the construction of toll roads, alternative highways, and rail networks by engaging private companies. Additionally, they implement decongestion policies by offering fiscal incentives to businesses that establish themselves outside of the urban centers.
Mass transportation, of course, holds the key to untangle the gridlock. The Philippines is moving in this direction by building and expanding rail networks that can move more people faster to their destination and, hopefully, discourage private vehicles from the roads in favor of train—like in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.
For one, I’m glad to learn that the government is proceeding well with the construction and funding of the nation’s first subway train network. The Department Finance expects to finalize a P55.7-billion (150 billion yen) loan tranche agreement with Japan to fund the construction of the Metro Manila Subway Project by March 2024.
I have taken a personal interest on this project. I witnessed back early last year when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. launched the Metro Manila Subway project’s tunnel boring machine. I appreciated back then all the efforts of President Marcos to push through with the administration’s Build Better More Program.
I was also flattered when President Marcos recognized my modest contribution to the project. “Senator Mark Villar has played a special role for us to come to this day as he was the former Secretary of the Department of Public Works and had a big hand in getting this project going and keeping it going so that we could continue it until its final fruition,” said President Marcos.
Dubbed “the project of the century,” the underground rail line is expected to serve 370,000 passengers daily in its first year of full operations. Once completed and fully operational, the Metro Manila Subway Project will have 17 stations, including one at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
The construction of the rail line, especially the section from Valenzuela to North Avenue, is in full swing. The Department of Transportation (DOTR) now expects the partial operability of the subway project between 2025 and 2026.
This game-changer of a project is expected to reduce travel time between Quezon City and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, or NAIA, from one hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes. It has the potential capacity to serve up to 1 million passengers a day in later years.
The beauty of this subway project is its physical interconnection and inter-operability with the North-south Commuter railway System’s (NSCR) south segment. The link enables passengers to board the subway train in North Avenue Station in Quezon City and get off at the Calamba Station of the NSCR.
In addition, it is integrated with the public transit system in Metro Manila. Passengers may take several forms of road-based public transport, such as buses and jeepneys, to and from a station to reach their destination.
The line will link with other urban rail transit services in the capital region as well, such as LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3 and MRT Line 7 at the North Triangle Common Station. Other connections include the existing LRT Line 2 and PNR Metro Commuter Line and the planned MRT Line 4 and MRT Line 8.
The Philippines obviously needs more rail networks to catch up with its Asian neighbors in modernizing travel and making it efficient.
I laud the recent efforts of the Department of Transportation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency in preparing a “30-year railway Master Plan for the Greater Capital region (GCR).”
An expanded railways system will definitely ease the traffic problem, improve the quality of life and attract more investments into the country.
But it has to keep pace with rapid urbanization. The population in the National Capital region, Central Luzon and CALABARZON has grown from 29.1 million in 2007 to an estimated 44.1 million as of July 2023. Hopefully, an expanded and modern Philippine rail network will catch up with this rising volume of commuters.