A month of heart: Four major DOTr railway projects for the Filipino

TRUE

love is not the monopoly of couples, families, or friends. Another kind of true love resides in the commitment to faithfully deliver public service, a kind of love that also braves seemingly insurmountable challenges and endures the test of time.

To show its love for Filipinos, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), under the leadership of Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, fetes four major railway projects this February to build the foundation of a safe, efficient, and convenient mass transit system for Filipinos.

The DOTr, and its attached agencies and private partners, is going “fast and sure” with the MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project, the construction of the Common Station, PNR Clark Phase 1, and the Metro Manila Subway.

MRT-3 rehabilitation project

Scarred from years of short-term maintenance, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) has been wallowing in an abjectly degraded state, causing stress and inconvenience to the riding public.

But the broken shall be made whole again.

Following the signing of an R18-billion loan agreement with Japan and the return of Sumitomo Corporation and its technical partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as the Rehabilitation and Maintenance Service Provider, MRT-3 is set to undergo rehabilitation and maintenance of its electromechanical components, power supply, rail tracks, depot equipment, and overhaul of its 72 light rail vehicles.

Once rehabilitated, the MRT-3 will return to its high-grade infrastructure condition. It will increase the number of its operating train sets from the current 15 to 20 at peak hours, double the train operating speed to 60 kilometers per hour, and slash by half the time between trains from the current 7-10 minutes to 3.5 minutes.

Transition works are now ongoing.

Common Station: Building a long-lasting connection

Unless there’s a genuine and solid connection, a relationship can easily drift apart.

To provide the Filipinos unprecedented connection in public transport, the construction of the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS) in Quezon City, also known as the Common Station, is well on its way.

The Common Station is a 13,700square meter concourse at the north end of EDSA that aims to provide seamless transfer of passengers of four railway lines, namely, the LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and the Metro Manila Subway. It will be built through the collaborative efforts of the government and private sector partners.

The concourse is comprised of three areas: Area A under the DOTr, the contract for the design and build of which was signed on 13 February 2019; Area B under Ayala Land Inc. which has already started construction; and Area C under the MRT-7 Project facilitated by San Miguel Corporation (SMC).

The Common Station will feature a transit area for the riding public, operated by an automated fare collection system that will give commuters enhanced point-to-point mobility and comfort once operational by 2022.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade summed up the value of the Common Station in three words: interoperability, intermodality, and interconnectivity. These, according to the transportation chief, are key elements in making the Filpino life comfortable.

PNR Clark Phase 1: On the way to your hearts

Sometimes, the long wait is rewarded with THE one.

In a seminal initiative to connect North and South Luzon through a mass transit system, the North-South Commuter Railway Project is finally on its way to the hearts of Filipinos, following the start of full-blast construction of the Tutuban to Malolos leg, known as PNR Clark Phase 1, on 15 February 2019.

Soon, a train from Clark, Pampanga, to Calamba, Laguna, will be a familiar scene in our daily lives.

PNR Clark Phase 1 is a 37.6-kilometer mass railway project implemented by the DOTr and the Philippine National Railways (PNR). This leg will have 10 stations from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan. Once fully operational, it will cut the commute of over 300,000 passengers between Manila, and Bulacan from one hour and 45 minutes to just 35 minutes.

PNR Clark Phase 1 will be seamlessly connected with the PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba, forming one integrated commuter railway system that will serve commuters traveling to, from, within the National Capital Region, Central Luzon to Calabarzon.

As trailblazing projects go, the North-South Commuter Railway Project is poised to transform not only the commuting experience of Filipinos, but on a grander scale, the economic and social landscape of Luzon through a firm linkage of Mega Manila.

Metro Manila Subway: How Deep is Your Love?

For love of country, the DOTr will bore through the depths of the concrete jungle that is Metro Manila to deliver “the project of the century” – the Metro Manila Subway.

A major transformational project in mass transport, the Metro Manila Subway is set to break ground this February.

The Philippines’ first-ever subway stretches 30 kilometers, with 15 stations from Quirino Highway in Quezon City to NAIA Terminal 3 and FTI, and provisions for a 5-kilometer extension and two additional stations to connect with LRT-1.

The Metro Manila Subway will feature an automatic train control system and platform screen doors, earthquake sensors, and flood control system for passenger safety and disaster resilience.

At an incredible speed of 80 kilometers per hour, the subway will be the country’s fastest public transport, dramatically reducing travel time from North Avenue in Quezon City to the airport to just 31 minutes.

The Metro Manila Subway aims to serve an estimated 370,000 commuters daily when partial operations of the first three stations commence in 2022. The entire system will be fully operational by 2025.

Love for the Filipino people

Perhaps, no love is grander than love of country when it goes beyond the realm of the personal to embrace the spectrum of possibilities for others.

The DOTr and its attached agencies are determined, through transformational initiatives and flagship projects, to transport the Filipinos to the ‘golden age of infrastructure,’ where public transport becomes an equalizer in Philippine society.

It truly has been a month of heart.