Makati holds groundbreaking ceremony for first intra-city train system in PH

THE Makati City government on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would pave the way for the construction of the first intra-city mass transit in the country.

The P185-billion Public Rail Transport (PRT) is a joint venture between Makati and the Philippine InfraDev Holdings Inc., a consortium of local and foreign investors, which will ensure and maintain operations and serve as a control hub for 30 years.

Lawyer Michael Camiña said the PRT would run through 10 stations along Ayala Avenue near the Bureau of Fire Protection, Circuit Mall, Makati City Hall, Guadalupe Village and city-run Ospital ng Makati.

Mayor Abby Binay, who led the groundbreaking on Wednesday, promised to have the project done by 2023.

“I believe the Makati Subway will be a very valuable legacy, and I am fully committed to its timely completion and operation. It will make a lasting positive impact on the lives of our residents, and contribute significantly to the city’s sustainable development and economic growth,” Binay said.

Binay added that the intra-city subway system was expected to create about 6,000 new jobs during its construction and its operations in 2024.

NOW: Groundbreaking rites for the Public Railway Transport System here in Makati City Hall. @TheManilaTimes pic.twitter.com/LkhRrLQXP7

— Neil Servallos (@tmtnjservallos) December 12, 2018

Once completed, the subway system will be able to serve up to 27,000 passengers per hour and per direction on an interval of three to six minutes between trains on the first year, with 12 operational trains.

The subway system will have two tracks, up to 10 underground stations, and air-conditioned coaches, which can accommodate 200 persons per car. The entire system spans 10 kilometers with a train yard, maintenance depot, and central command center at ground level.

Camiña said PRT was also prepared to accommodate as many as 40,500 passengers per hour during peak hours. The train system will run on an 18-hour operational cycle.

It will also be linked to ferry transport, interchanges to the existing MRT 3 line, as well as potential links to the future Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded Metro Manila subway.

According to JICA’s congestion valuations, the Philippines will gain at least $600 million annually in gross domestic product (GDP)just for enhanced productivity.

Feasibility studies project 270,000 fewer cars in the streets of Makati by 2048, which Binay said would also decongest neighboring cities, particularly in major thoroughfares used by millions of commuters and motorists daily.

https://www.manilatimes.net/makati-holds-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-first-intra-city-train-system-in-ph/481621/

MRT 3 reports 90% drop in unloading cases

Compared to the same period in 2016 and 2017, the number of unloading incidents reported this year by Metro Manila’s busiest light rail system, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, has dropped by around 80 to 90 percent.

According to data presented by the MRT 3 management, the cases of off-loading — in which passengers were forced to alight from a train due to disruptions in operations — went down to just 56 from January to November this year.

The figure was a marked improvement from the 440 and 562 incidents recorded during the same months in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

At least nine of the 56 unloading incidents happened in February when the number of functioning MRT 3 trains went down to a single digit.

11-minute wait

At 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, there were just seven operational trains, resulting in an 11-minute wait for passengers at the different stations.

Normally, the MRT 3 should have 15 trains running during rush hour and 12 trains at off-peak hours.

Due to the deterioration in services and the long wait in between trains, ridership was drastically affected.

In February, the MRT 3 ferried close to 259,000 passengers, a steep drop from its daily average of 463,000 passengers in 2017.

Things, however, improved in April as the number of operational trains went up once more to 15 with the arrival of much-needed spare parts.

The MRT 3’s longest glitch-free streak was 31 days until an electrical failure on Nov. 17 led to the off-loading of 650 passengers at Gil Puyat station.

The train system also recorded 17 instances of service interruptions that did not lead to the unloading of passengers.

Continuous maintenance

The MRT 3 management attributed the train system’s better performance to its staff’s continuous maintenance work.

However, the improvements could also be traced to the return of Sumitomo, the MRT 3’s original maintenance provider, for the implementation of a 43-month rehabilitation project.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1062215/mrt-3-reports-90-drop-in-unloading-cases