By Azer Parrocha
A Department of Transportation (DOTr) official said Wednesday they expect Metro Manila traffic to ease from 6 percent to 7 percent to 20 percent to 25 percent once all its railway assets are finished.
“Our estimate for the current pipeline when they (railways) become operational is we increase our rail capture from 6 (percent) to 7 percent up to 20 (percent) to 25 percent,” DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a Palace briefing.
Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Jun Magno said the strategy is to create several corridors by means of railway assets to reduce traffic.
“The strategy overall in rail is actually not to push everything through Edsa but actually through several corridors: One, is the subway; one, is NSCR (North-South Commuter Railway), and then MRT-3 (Metro Rail Transit),” Magno said.
“But again, the earliest that would materialize is NSCR ahead of the subway,” he added.
The officials estimated that one million passengers use the country’s four railway systems -- the PNR, Light Rail Transit (LRT-1, and -2), and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3).
Batan said on weekdays, there are about 20 million trips in Metro Manila.
“Out of that 20 million trips, we have around 14 million trips by public transport. And out of that 14 million trips, we are getting one million trips in our railway system or around 6 (percent) to 7 percent of our daily public transport commuters,” Batan said.
PNR extension
Meanwhile, Magno said the PNR is mulling the construction of a bridge between Valenzuela and Malabon to extend the PNR service all the way to Malabon.
“We are poised to carry 120,000 passengers between Malabon and Calamba and we are planning to extend the service because of traffic issues that came out yesterday. That’s why we might open all the way to Valenzuela,” Magno said.
He said the PNR has been studying the engineering obstacles in relation to the construction of the proposed bridge, which he said will take less than 30 to 45 days to build.
“Right now, we have service all the way to Governor Pascual in Malabon. Malabon and Valenzuela (are) separated by a body of water, (the) Tullahan River. We used to have an old bridge but it was destroyed,” Magno said.
“Because we are making the NSCR project, we are looking for a space where we can connect it to Valenzuela, so we could re-open service between Valenzuela and Makati,” he added.
Magno said once the bridge is built, residents living in Valenzuela can take a jeepney to Governor Pascual, and take the train service from there going to Makati.
“So we’ll just be adding trains. There are trains coming. We will make sure there are a lot of trains and then we connect the bridge between Tullahan and Malabon),” Magno said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077844
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Government 'on track' to complete LRT-1 Cavite extension
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's administration is on track to finish the construction of the 11.7-kilometer Light Rail Transit (LRT) - Line 1 by 2021, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday, August 14.
Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy Batan gave the assurance in a Palace press briefing, after Cavite Seventh District Representative Jesus Crispin Remulla blamed the Ayala consortium for the delay in the construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension.
"It's (LRT-1 Cavite extension project) 19 years delayed. Project is finally on track," Batan said.
"Fourth quarter 2021, tapos 'yun (it's already completed). So finally, after 19 years, we are seeing actual construction works in progress in this LRT-1 Cavite extension project," he added.
The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), which is a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investment Corporation, and the Macquaire group, took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT-1 in September 2015.
The construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension is part of the concession agreement with the LRMC.
The extension, which will transport commuters from Baclaran to Cavite, will cover eight new stations.
The stations that are expected to be opened are Redemptorist, Naia Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Aquino, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Nigod.
The project is seen to increase its daily ridership to 800,000 from the current 500,000.
Batan noted that the piling works for the LRT extension would begin in October this year, while the launching of a girder for the project will be in March next year. (SunStar Philippines)
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/government-track-complete-lrt-1-104300212.html
Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy Batan gave the assurance in a Palace press briefing, after Cavite Seventh District Representative Jesus Crispin Remulla blamed the Ayala consortium for the delay in the construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension.
"It's (LRT-1 Cavite extension project) 19 years delayed. Project is finally on track," Batan said.
"Fourth quarter 2021, tapos 'yun (it's already completed). So finally, after 19 years, we are seeing actual construction works in progress in this LRT-1 Cavite extension project," he added.
The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), which is a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investment Corporation, and the Macquaire group, took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT-1 in September 2015.
The construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension is part of the concession agreement with the LRMC.
The extension, which will transport commuters from Baclaran to Cavite, will cover eight new stations.
The stations that are expected to be opened are Redemptorist, Naia Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Aquino, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Nigod.
The project is seen to increase its daily ridership to 800,000 from the current 500,000.
Batan noted that the piling works for the LRT extension would begin in October this year, while the launching of a girder for the project will be in March next year. (SunStar Philippines)
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/government-track-complete-lrt-1-104300212.html
Ayala, Metro Pacific slammed for LRT 1 extension, FTI construction delays
Cavite 7th District Representative Boying Remulla says the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange would have been 'viable' if not for these construction delays
Cavite 7th District Representative Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla blamed corporations Ayala and Metro Pacific for delays in the construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) station.
Remulla said the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) would have been "viable" if not for these construction delays, since the LRT1 extension was supposed to have a station at the terminal to transport passengers to and from Metro Manila.
Instead, commuters who already spend 7.5 hours traveling two-way from the farthest points are forced to take another ride to other parts of Metro Manila. Consequently, they get to work late or they line up for hours just to get a ride.
Remulla addressed these concerns, saying the PITX "really hurt" the people of Cavite because of the lack of a plan to dispatch people to their destinations.
"In the PITX, they did not put in the dedicated rides to the business districts and to the educational institutions. They just let it be," Remulla said on Tuesday, August 13, during the Senate hearing on the provincial bus ban.
In the past, the former Cavite governor proposed solutions to address these difficulties in a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), requesting Secretary Arthur Tugade to allow both provincial and city buses to enter Metro Manila and reach their designated terminals.
He had also previously moved to suspend PITX operations until the LRT1 extension was constructed, saying it did not serve the general public at its current state.
Remulla now calls on people to stop turning a blind eye to the problem of concessionaires, which he said were being favored by the government.
Further, he also slammed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board for "adapting discriminatory practices" by awarding concessionaires without distinguishing which will serve the commuters' interests.
"The DOTr is not calling the attention of those running the LRT1 and those in charge of the extension, and [is instead] allowing these people to take their sweet time," he said.
The Light Rail Manila Corporation – a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, and the Macquarie group – took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT1 in September 2015.
The extension was meant to transport passengers from Baclaran to Cavite. Construction was supposed to start in mid-2018, but only began last April.
Meanwhile, Ayala Land won the bid for FTI in 2012.
Remulla on Tuesday proposed that these concessions be awarded to another group if the current concessionaires are not continuing with the construction.
"That is a very urgent matter that they should be doing. Kung hindi kaya ng Ayala 'yan tsaka Metro Pacific, ibigay na nila sa ibang concessionaire na may kaya. Kasi para namang maghihintay tayo forever for Ayala to move eh," he said.
(If Ayala and Metro Pacific cannot do it, give it to a concessionaire who can. We can't wait forever for Ayala to move.)
https://www.rappler.com/nation/237687-boying-remulla-slams-ayala-metro-pacific-lrt1-fti-construction-delays
Cavite 7th District Representative Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla blamed corporations Ayala and Metro Pacific for delays in the construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) station.
Remulla said the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) would have been "viable" if not for these construction delays, since the LRT1 extension was supposed to have a station at the terminal to transport passengers to and from Metro Manila.
Instead, commuters who already spend 7.5 hours traveling two-way from the farthest points are forced to take another ride to other parts of Metro Manila. Consequently, they get to work late or they line up for hours just to get a ride.
Remulla addressed these concerns, saying the PITX "really hurt" the people of Cavite because of the lack of a plan to dispatch people to their destinations.
"In the PITX, they did not put in the dedicated rides to the business districts and to the educational institutions. They just let it be," Remulla said on Tuesday, August 13, during the Senate hearing on the provincial bus ban.
In the past, the former Cavite governor proposed solutions to address these difficulties in a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), requesting Secretary Arthur Tugade to allow both provincial and city buses to enter Metro Manila and reach their designated terminals.
He had also previously moved to suspend PITX operations until the LRT1 extension was constructed, saying it did not serve the general public at its current state.
Remulla now calls on people to stop turning a blind eye to the problem of concessionaires, which he said were being favored by the government.
Further, he also slammed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board for "adapting discriminatory practices" by awarding concessionaires without distinguishing which will serve the commuters' interests.
"The DOTr is not calling the attention of those running the LRT1 and those in charge of the extension, and [is instead] allowing these people to take their sweet time," he said.
The Light Rail Manila Corporation – a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, and the Macquarie group – took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT1 in September 2015.
The extension was meant to transport passengers from Baclaran to Cavite. Construction was supposed to start in mid-2018, but only began last April.
Meanwhile, Ayala Land won the bid for FTI in 2012.
Remulla on Tuesday proposed that these concessions be awarded to another group if the current concessionaires are not continuing with the construction.
"That is a very urgent matter that they should be doing. Kung hindi kaya ng Ayala 'yan tsaka Metro Pacific, ibigay na nila sa ibang concessionaire na may kaya. Kasi para namang maghihintay tayo forever for Ayala to move eh," he said.
(If Ayala and Metro Pacific cannot do it, give it to a concessionaire who can. We can't wait forever for Ayala to move.)
https://www.rappler.com/nation/237687-boying-remulla-slams-ayala-metro-pacific-lrt1-fti-construction-delays
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