Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar announced on Tuesday the opening of the first section of the Cavitex C5 Southlink — the 2.2-kilometer flyover crossing South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) traversing Taguig and Pasay City.
“We are supportive of road engineering solutions for everyday problems. This is a vital project that will cut travel time in half from the usual 1.5 hours spent to cross from Villamor Airbase, Pasay area to Taguig City. With 3 lanes in each direction of this flyover, passage of the anticipated 8,000 vehicles will be eased when they use the flyover starting 8 p.m. sharp tonight.” Villar said in a statement.
The PHP1.6-billion C5 Link flyover is now accessible to vehicles plying between Fort Bonifacio, C.P. Garcia (C5), Taguig City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, and Pasay City.
The alignment features the bridge that crosses Metro Manila Skyway (at-grade) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
The C5 Link flyover is expected to reduce vehicular traffic in Sales interchange near Villamor Airbase. The flyover is also expected to decongest SLEX East and West Service Roads and Edsa.
This is the second public-private partnership with Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation to open this year following the successful completion of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in February 2019.
Philippine Reclamation Authority general manager Janilo Rubiato also announced his support to the completion of the project.
“As a grantee of the franchise to operate the Manila – Cavite Toll Expressway Project (MCTEP), the PRA will continue to contribute to President Duterte’s aggressive infrastructure initiatives and the expansion programs of its joint venture partner CIC,” he said.
A promise of a better and more efficient road network awaits motorists and residents of neighboring cities when the 7.7-kilometer C5 Link Expressway comes to its full completion.
CIC president Roberto V. Bontia said he foresees Cavitex C5 Link Expressway to be the choice thoroughfare for about 50,000 vehicles daily as customers experience the ease of traveling south of the Metro Manila from Parañaque Toll Plaza to C5 in Taguig City in under 10 minutes.
“We take small but sure steps at a time, today we open our flyover, the construction of the next 2.1 km section between Merville and Sucat, Las Piñas City will soon start, and eventually connect to the Parañaque side of Cavitex by 2022,” Bontia said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075853
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
DOTr says construction of LRT-2 extension project now 61% complete
The construction of the Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT-2) East Extension Project is now 61 percent complete, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Wednesday.
The DOTr said the project, which will add four kilometers of railway tracks from Santolan in Pasig City to Masinag in Antipolo City, is already at 61.93% completion rate as of June 2019.
The LRT-2 extension project will feature two stations – the Emerald station, along Marcos highway and adjoining Gil Fernando and Felix Avenues, and the Masinag station, near Sumulong highway in Antipolo City, Rizal.
The DOTr said the building of the elevated viaduct is already 100 percent complete, while the design and build of the two additional stations are currently ongoing.
“The Emerald Station in Marikina is 89.51% complete while the Masinag Station in Antipolo is at 86.86% complete,” the agency added.
Once operational, it is expected to significantly reduce the travel time from Antipolo to Claro M. Recto in Manila to 40 minutes from the current three hours.
The DOTr is targeting to begin its operations by the fourth quarter of 2020.
https://www.untvweb.com/news/dotr-says-construction-of-lrt-2-extension-project-now-61-complete/
The DOTr said the project, which will add four kilometers of railway tracks from Santolan in Pasig City to Masinag in Antipolo City, is already at 61.93% completion rate as of June 2019.
The LRT-2 extension project will feature two stations – the Emerald station, along Marcos highway and adjoining Gil Fernando and Felix Avenues, and the Masinag station, near Sumulong highway in Antipolo City, Rizal.
The DOTr said the building of the elevated viaduct is already 100 percent complete, while the design and build of the two additional stations are currently ongoing.
“The Emerald Station in Marikina is 89.51% complete while the Masinag Station in Antipolo is at 86.86% complete,” the agency added.
Once operational, it is expected to significantly reduce the travel time from Antipolo to Claro M. Recto in Manila to 40 minutes from the current three hours.
The DOTr is targeting to begin its operations by the fourth quarter of 2020.
https://www.untvweb.com/news/dotr-says-construction-of-lrt-2-extension-project-now-61-complete/
Building the MRT 7 common station
 |
| Department of Transportation (DOTr) representatives join construction partners during a media tour of the partially completed facilities of the MRT 7 Common Station at the North Avenue in Quezon City on Wednesday. Headed by EEI Corporation AVP Vicente Gaya, the partners and media were briefed and shown the main concourse, Levels 1 and 2 of the MRT 7, which are part of the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build project. |
MRT-7 partial operations to happen in 2021, not 2020 —DOTr
By JOVILAND RITA, GMA News
Commercial operations of the Metro Rail Transit System Line 7 (MRT-7) has been moved to 2021 from 2020, the Department of Transportation said on Wednesday, citing issues in right-of-way acquisitions.
“Para sa MRT-7 ang target natin partial operation will be end of 2021,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a press conference.
The department initially set the commercial operations of MRT-7 to start in 2020.
The partial operation of the new mass rail transit system will start in the last quarter of 2021.
Batan noted they are facing “big challenges” in acquiring right-of-way properties for the project.
“Isa po doon sa pinakamalaking challenges in implementing our infrastructure projects is really right-of way-acquisition,” Batan said.
However, the contractor and concessionaire are supposedly doing their best to speed up the construction by “working on workables” to meet the 2021 target.
“Based on the availability noong right of way natin, at this point in time, on track tayo in achieving ‘yung partial operability target natin by 2021,” Batan said.
The project was conceptualized in 2001, with the budget approved in 2009 and in place in 2016.
“Ang catch up that we are doing … it spans almost two decades,” Batan said. —VDS, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/701315/mrt-7-partial-operations-to-happen-in-2021-not-2020-dotr/story/
Commercial operations of the Metro Rail Transit System Line 7 (MRT-7) has been moved to 2021 from 2020, the Department of Transportation said on Wednesday, citing issues in right-of-way acquisitions.
“Para sa MRT-7 ang target natin partial operation will be end of 2021,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a press conference.
The department initially set the commercial operations of MRT-7 to start in 2020.
The partial operation of the new mass rail transit system will start in the last quarter of 2021.
Batan noted they are facing “big challenges” in acquiring right-of-way properties for the project.
“Isa po doon sa pinakamalaking challenges in implementing our infrastructure projects is really right-of way-acquisition,” Batan said.
However, the contractor and concessionaire are supposedly doing their best to speed up the construction by “working on workables” to meet the 2021 target.
“Based on the availability noong right of way natin, at this point in time, on track tayo in achieving ‘yung partial operability target natin by 2021,” Batan said.
The project was conceptualized in 2001, with the budget approved in 2009 and in place in 2016.
“Ang catch up that we are doing … it spans almost two decades,” Batan said. —VDS, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/701315/mrt-7-partial-operations-to-happen-in-2021-not-2020-dotr/story/
More trains coming; fleet to grow by more than 5 times
The government is planning to bolster the country’s fleet of operational train cars by more than five times by the end of the Duterte administration to boost connectivity and enable better and faster services across all rail networks nationwide.
Transportation Undersecretary for railways Timothy John Batan said the country’s rolling stock fleet of 221 operational train cars, also known as light rail vehicles or coaches, in 2016 is targeted to grow to more than 1,200 by 2022.
“As of today, we have already completed the order for an additional 369 additional train cars, with the 37 train cars of (the Philippine National Railways) starting delivery next month, 108 train cars for (Mass Rail Transit)-7 starting delivery toward the end of this year, 120 train cars for (Light Rail Transit)-1 starting delivery in the middle of 2020 and the 104 train cars for PNR Clark Phase 1 starting delivery in the fourth quarter of 2021,” Batan said.
In the next three months, the undersecretary said invitations to bid would also be published for three additional rolling stock contract packages for 600 additional train cars consisting of 304 commuter train cars for PNR Clark Phase 2 and PNR Calamba, 56 airport express train cars which will connect Clark International Airport to Makati in less than one hour and 240 for the country’s very first subway.
“Along with other orders that would be completed by 2020 for the 1,900-kilometer railway network that we are building throughout the country, under the leadership of Secretary (Arthur) Tugade, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) would have expanded our rolling stock fleet from 221 in 2016 to more than 1,200 train cars by 2022,” he said.
The DOTr yesterday signed the P12.1-billion contract for Package 3 of the PNR Clark Phase 1 with the joint venture of Sumitomo Corp. and Japan Transport Engineering Co.
Contract Package 3 of the 37.6-kilometer mass transit project that will connect Malolos, Bulacan to the National Capital Region pertains to the manufacture and delivery of a rolling stock fleet with a total of 13 train sets comprising of eight cars per train set.
The rolling stock will be designed to have a capacity of 2,242 passengers per train set, capable of running at 120 kilometers per hour.
Tugade said the train cars were originally scheduled for full delivery by the last quarter of 2021, but he requested delivery by no later than the third quarter of 2021.
He said the earlier schedule of delivery would make sure that the partial operability of the PNR Clark Phase 1 project covering the portion of Malolos to Valenzuela will happen by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.
Contract Package 4 of the project, which entails electrical and mechanical works, is targeted to be awarded by yearend.
“So, by the end of the year, it is all systems go,” Tugade said.
Contract Package 1, which covers the construction of six stations – Solis, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao and Bocaue – and a depot, was signed last May 20 and is now in full swing.
Meanwhile, Contract Package 2 consists of the construction of three stations – Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos. Construction is in full blast as well after it was signed last Jan. 23.
Once the PNR Clark Phase 1 project is completed and fully operational by 2022, travel time from Manila to Bulacan will be reduced from one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes, serving 300,000 passengers daily.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/17/1935446/more-trains-coming-fleet-grow-more-5-times
Transportation Undersecretary for railways Timothy John Batan said the country’s rolling stock fleet of 221 operational train cars, also known as light rail vehicles or coaches, in 2016 is targeted to grow to more than 1,200 by 2022.
“As of today, we have already completed the order for an additional 369 additional train cars, with the 37 train cars of (the Philippine National Railways) starting delivery next month, 108 train cars for (Mass Rail Transit)-7 starting delivery toward the end of this year, 120 train cars for (Light Rail Transit)-1 starting delivery in the middle of 2020 and the 104 train cars for PNR Clark Phase 1 starting delivery in the fourth quarter of 2021,” Batan said.
In the next three months, the undersecretary said invitations to bid would also be published for three additional rolling stock contract packages for 600 additional train cars consisting of 304 commuter train cars for PNR Clark Phase 2 and PNR Calamba, 56 airport express train cars which will connect Clark International Airport to Makati in less than one hour and 240 for the country’s very first subway.
“Along with other orders that would be completed by 2020 for the 1,900-kilometer railway network that we are building throughout the country, under the leadership of Secretary (Arthur) Tugade, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) would have expanded our rolling stock fleet from 221 in 2016 to more than 1,200 train cars by 2022,” he said.
The DOTr yesterday signed the P12.1-billion contract for Package 3 of the PNR Clark Phase 1 with the joint venture of Sumitomo Corp. and Japan Transport Engineering Co.
Contract Package 3 of the 37.6-kilometer mass transit project that will connect Malolos, Bulacan to the National Capital Region pertains to the manufacture and delivery of a rolling stock fleet with a total of 13 train sets comprising of eight cars per train set.
The rolling stock will be designed to have a capacity of 2,242 passengers per train set, capable of running at 120 kilometers per hour.
Tugade said the train cars were originally scheduled for full delivery by the last quarter of 2021, but he requested delivery by no later than the third quarter of 2021.
He said the earlier schedule of delivery would make sure that the partial operability of the PNR Clark Phase 1 project covering the portion of Malolos to Valenzuela will happen by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.
Contract Package 4 of the project, which entails electrical and mechanical works, is targeted to be awarded by yearend.
“So, by the end of the year, it is all systems go,” Tugade said.
Contract Package 1, which covers the construction of six stations – Solis, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao and Bocaue – and a depot, was signed last May 20 and is now in full swing.
Meanwhile, Contract Package 2 consists of the construction of three stations – Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos. Construction is in full blast as well after it was signed last Jan. 23.
Once the PNR Clark Phase 1 project is completed and fully operational by 2022, travel time from Manila to Bulacan will be reduced from one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes, serving 300,000 passengers daily.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/17/1935446/more-trains-coming-fleet-grow-more-5-times
DOTr inks deal with Japanese JV on making of rail coaches for train coaches for Tutuban-Malolos railway
CLARK FREEPORT—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its Japanese partners, the joint venture of Sumitomo Corp. and Japan Transport Engineering Co. (J-TREC), on Tuesday signed the contract for the manufacture of train coaches for Package 3: Rolling Stock of the PNR Clark Phase 1 Tutuban-Malolos at the Marriott Hotel here.
The P12.1-billion supply contract was signed by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and PNR Chairman Roberto Lastimoso for the government, and Sumitomo Corp. General Manager Hiroshi Karashima, and J-TREC President Takao Nishiyama.
Tugade said the plan is to have eight trains per set to be manufactured by their Japanese partners.
“So that if we have 13 sets, we have around 104 trains similar to those and the capacity is 2,200. These trains will be traveling from Tutuban to Clark to Calamba,” Tugade said.
“This is the reason we are all here today, to sign an agreement where the prototypes you see will come into fruition by 2021,” Tugade added, pointing to the miniature prototype displayed at the venue.
He said the contract that was signed indicated that the trains shall be delivered in full by the end of the last quarter of 2021.
However, he said he prodded their Japanese partners to deliver the trains by the third quarter of 2021 instead of the last quarter, so that the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba route can be realized at the end of the year 2021.
“Let me tell you that this morning, prior to entering this room, I talked to Mr. Nishiyama in the presence of Jica [Japan International Cooperation Agency] and we have agreed to do a fast-track mechanism so that the trains committed to be delivered on the fourth quarter of 2021 shall be delivered no later than the third quarter of 2021,” Tugade said.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we agreeing to fast-track the manufacture of these trains? Because I have promised the President that we will have the partial operability of the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021,” he explained.
“If the trains will be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2021, then I cannot operate the trains before 2021,” he reasoned.
“So, today the first agenda that we talked about prior to our coming here is to [forge] an agreement in principle that we will strive to work together so that the trains will be delivered on the third quarter of 2021.” This, he added, will ensure the “partial operability of the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba route” by the end of 2021, Tugade said.
The PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos) broke ground on February 15, 2019. The 37.6-kilometer, elevated mass railway system will connect Malolos to Manila and will entail 10 stations.
The trains can run up to 120 kilometers per hour, and reduce the travel time between Manila and Bulacan from over one hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes once the system is fully operational by 2022.
The project is funded by Jica under a ¥241.991-billion or P93.457-billion loan agreement signed in November 2015.
The PNR Tutuban-Malolos line will be integrated with the PNR Malolos-Clark project and the PNR South Commuter—Manila to Calamba, Laguna, project—to form an integrated commuter railway system that will serve commuters traveling to, from, and within NCR, Region 3 and Region 4A.
The full interoperability of the entire PNR North-South Commuter Railway is expected to happen in 2023.
The signing was followed by the Japanese traditional ceremony, the Sake Barrel Breaking Ceremony, where Tugade made a toast to every guest with the traditional Japanese rice wine.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/17/dotr-inks-deal-with-japanese-jv-on-making-of-rail-coaches-for-train-coaches-for-tutuban-malolos-railway/
The P12.1-billion supply contract was signed by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and PNR Chairman Roberto Lastimoso for the government, and Sumitomo Corp. General Manager Hiroshi Karashima, and J-TREC President Takao Nishiyama.
Tugade said the plan is to have eight trains per set to be manufactured by their Japanese partners.
“So that if we have 13 sets, we have around 104 trains similar to those and the capacity is 2,200. These trains will be traveling from Tutuban to Clark to Calamba,” Tugade said.
“This is the reason we are all here today, to sign an agreement where the prototypes you see will come into fruition by 2021,” Tugade added, pointing to the miniature prototype displayed at the venue.
He said the contract that was signed indicated that the trains shall be delivered in full by the end of the last quarter of 2021.
However, he said he prodded their Japanese partners to deliver the trains by the third quarter of 2021 instead of the last quarter, so that the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba route can be realized at the end of the year 2021.
“Let me tell you that this morning, prior to entering this room, I talked to Mr. Nishiyama in the presence of Jica [Japan International Cooperation Agency] and we have agreed to do a fast-track mechanism so that the trains committed to be delivered on the fourth quarter of 2021 shall be delivered no later than the third quarter of 2021,” Tugade said.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we agreeing to fast-track the manufacture of these trains? Because I have promised the President that we will have the partial operability of the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021,” he explained.
“If the trains will be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2021, then I cannot operate the trains before 2021,” he reasoned.
“So, today the first agenda that we talked about prior to our coming here is to [forge] an agreement in principle that we will strive to work together so that the trains will be delivered on the third quarter of 2021.” This, he added, will ensure the “partial operability of the Tutuban-Clark-Calamba route” by the end of 2021, Tugade said.
The PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos) broke ground on February 15, 2019. The 37.6-kilometer, elevated mass railway system will connect Malolos to Manila and will entail 10 stations.
The trains can run up to 120 kilometers per hour, and reduce the travel time between Manila and Bulacan from over one hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes once the system is fully operational by 2022.
The project is funded by Jica under a ¥241.991-billion or P93.457-billion loan agreement signed in November 2015.
The PNR Tutuban-Malolos line will be integrated with the PNR Malolos-Clark project and the PNR South Commuter—Manila to Calamba, Laguna, project—to form an integrated commuter railway system that will serve commuters traveling to, from, and within NCR, Region 3 and Region 4A.
The full interoperability of the entire PNR North-South Commuter Railway is expected to happen in 2023.
The signing was followed by the Japanese traditional ceremony, the Sake Barrel Breaking Ceremony, where Tugade made a toast to every guest with the traditional Japanese rice wine.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/17/dotr-inks-deal-with-japanese-jv-on-making-of-rail-coaches-for-train-coaches-for-tutuban-malolos-railway/
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
What the Philippines’ US$2.75 billion rail project means for commuters and the environment
The Malolos-Clark Railway Project spells hope for long-suffering Filipino commuters in Metro Manila and its suburbs. Expected to be ready in 2022, it could benefit 342,000 passengers per day and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60,000 tonnes a year.
It is 6 p.m. in the Philippines and while the majority of office workers are battling their way home through rush hour traffic, Nady Tanguan is heading to work.
Tanguan is a call center agent in Metro Manila, 37 kilometers south of the suburbs where she lives in Bulacan.
Her night shift does not start until 8pm, but she has to head out early to avoid her quick ride turning into a two-hour crawl.
Tanguan considers herself lucky: she has neighbours with regular office hours who wake up at the crack of dawn to beat the rush-hour gridlock going to the city that can last up to four hours daily.
“I get an average of four hours of sleep a day because of my job, but at least I get to avoid the traffic that regular workers face during the day,” said Tanguan, 35. “What can I do? I need to earn a living for my family.”
When she gets into the city centre, the quickest way to her office is a ride on an ageing jeepney, where she suffocates in its exhaust fumes.
Tanguan is just one of the millions of urban Filipinos who shuttle back and forth between the northern provinces and the Philippine capital.
Their commute could become a lot better in 2022, when a long-awaited rail line linking provinces in the outskirts of Metro Manila to the city centre is expected to begin operations.
The 54 km Malolos–Clark Railway Project will link Malolos, a suburb of Metro Manila, to the Clark economic zone, a thriving hub of urban development in Central Luzon.
The project is part of the larger North–South Commuter Railway, a suburban railway network spanning 163km from New Clark City in Tarlac province in the north to Calamba in Laguna province in the south of Manila.
The Malolos-Clark Railway will link to the Blumentritt Station in Manila, where an elevated interchange station will connect it with other railways in the city centre.
The new rail line could ferry about 342,000 passengers a day by 2025, reducing congestion on parallel roads by 10 per cent, estimated the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is loaning US$2.75 billion to the Philippines—the multi-lateral bank’s single largest infrastructure project financing to date.
Metro Manila has been identified as the megacity with the third worst traffic conditions in Southeast Asia, contributing to economic losses of at least US$53.6 million chalked up by the Philippines each day due to road congestion.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Malolos-Clark Railway Project is expected to be equivalent to 60,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide per year, as commuters shift from cars, trucks and buses to rail-based public transport. Pollution has long been a public health risk in the archipelago, which has the third-highest number of deaths in the Asia Pacific due to air pollution. Some 98 per cent of passenger transport and 55 per cent of freight transport are by road.
The rail line will be elevated, reducing the risk of flooding during rains and typhoons. The project will also use pre-fabricated viaduct segments, which limit the need for land acquisition during construction and reduce the impact on communities living along the route.
The Malolos-Clark Railway will have seven stations: Blumentritt, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, and Clark International Airport.
With trains running at up to 160km per hour, travel time between Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga is expected to be slashed to one hour, compared to the current three-hour ride by bus.
“Lower income groups in particular will benefit from the time savings and affordability of [the railway] transport services with fares targeted at the same level as for buses in the same route,” Markus Roesner, principal transport specialist of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, told Eco-Business. “This will help non-Manila residents gain access to employment opportunities, education and social services.”
The project will also help to decongest Metro Manila by redirecting economic growth from Manila to Central Luzon, he added.
It is part of rising investment under President Rodrigo Duterte’s infrastructure programme called Build, Build, Build, which aims to increase public spending on infrastructure from 4.7 per cent this year to 7 per cent of gross domestic product by 2022.
On July 11, the ADB awarded an initial loan of US$1.3 billion to the Philippines for the project.
The loan will finance civil works like bridges, stations and viaducts for the elevated railway alignment as well as the tunnel going to the underground station for Clark International Airport.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency’s co-financing of US$2 billion will be used to buy trains and for electrical and mechanical systems.
Commuters like Tanguan are looking forward to a quick seamless commute.
“I hope our situation improves. As it is, I’m more stressed with traffic than my work,” she said.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/what-the-philippines-us275-billion-rail-project-means-for-commuters-and-the-environment/
It is 6 p.m. in the Philippines and while the majority of office workers are battling their way home through rush hour traffic, Nady Tanguan is heading to work.
Tanguan is a call center agent in Metro Manila, 37 kilometers south of the suburbs where she lives in Bulacan.
Her night shift does not start until 8pm, but she has to head out early to avoid her quick ride turning into a two-hour crawl.
Tanguan considers herself lucky: she has neighbours with regular office hours who wake up at the crack of dawn to beat the rush-hour gridlock going to the city that can last up to four hours daily.
“I get an average of four hours of sleep a day because of my job, but at least I get to avoid the traffic that regular workers face during the day,” said Tanguan, 35. “What can I do? I need to earn a living for my family.”
When she gets into the city centre, the quickest way to her office is a ride on an ageing jeepney, where she suffocates in its exhaust fumes.
Tanguan is just one of the millions of urban Filipinos who shuttle back and forth between the northern provinces and the Philippine capital.
Their commute could become a lot better in 2022, when a long-awaited rail line linking provinces in the outskirts of Metro Manila to the city centre is expected to begin operations.
The 54 km Malolos–Clark Railway Project will link Malolos, a suburb of Metro Manila, to the Clark economic zone, a thriving hub of urban development in Central Luzon.
The project is part of the larger North–South Commuter Railway, a suburban railway network spanning 163km from New Clark City in Tarlac province in the north to Calamba in Laguna province in the south of Manila.
The Malolos-Clark Railway will link to the Blumentritt Station in Manila, where an elevated interchange station will connect it with other railways in the city centre.
The new rail line could ferry about 342,000 passengers a day by 2025, reducing congestion on parallel roads by 10 per cent, estimated the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is loaning US$2.75 billion to the Philippines—the multi-lateral bank’s single largest infrastructure project financing to date.
Metro Manila has been identified as the megacity with the third worst traffic conditions in Southeast Asia, contributing to economic losses of at least US$53.6 million chalked up by the Philippines each day due to road congestion.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Malolos-Clark Railway Project is expected to be equivalent to 60,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide per year, as commuters shift from cars, trucks and buses to rail-based public transport. Pollution has long been a public health risk in the archipelago, which has the third-highest number of deaths in the Asia Pacific due to air pollution. Some 98 per cent of passenger transport and 55 per cent of freight transport are by road.
The rail line will be elevated, reducing the risk of flooding during rains and typhoons. The project will also use pre-fabricated viaduct segments, which limit the need for land acquisition during construction and reduce the impact on communities living along the route.
The Malolos-Clark Railway will have seven stations: Blumentritt, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, and Clark International Airport.
With trains running at up to 160km per hour, travel time between Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga is expected to be slashed to one hour, compared to the current three-hour ride by bus.
“Lower income groups in particular will benefit from the time savings and affordability of [the railway] transport services with fares targeted at the same level as for buses in the same route,” Markus Roesner, principal transport specialist of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, told Eco-Business. “This will help non-Manila residents gain access to employment opportunities, education and social services.”
The project will also help to decongest Metro Manila by redirecting economic growth from Manila to Central Luzon, he added.
It is part of rising investment under President Rodrigo Duterte’s infrastructure programme called Build, Build, Build, which aims to increase public spending on infrastructure from 4.7 per cent this year to 7 per cent of gross domestic product by 2022.
On July 11, the ADB awarded an initial loan of US$1.3 billion to the Philippines for the project.
The loan will finance civil works like bridges, stations and viaducts for the elevated railway alignment as well as the tunnel going to the underground station for Clark International Airport.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency’s co-financing of US$2 billion will be used to buy trains and for electrical and mechanical systems.
Commuters like Tanguan are looking forward to a quick seamless commute.
“I hope our situation improves. As it is, I’m more stressed with traffic than my work,” she said.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/what-the-philippines-us275-billion-rail-project-means-for-commuters-and-the-environment/
Government signs P12-b deal to buy Japanese trains for Malolos rail
The Department of Transportation said Tuesday it signed a P12.1-billion contract with the joint venture of Japan Transport Engineering Co. and Sumitomo Corp. to purchase trains for a rail system between Tutuban, Manila and Malolos, Bulacan.
The Tutuban-Malolos rail system represents Phase 1 of Philippine National Railways’ Clark Railway Project. Phase 2 will extend it from Malolos to Clark Freeport in Pampanga province.
Under the Phase 1 contract, J-Trec-Sumitomo will manufacture and deliver 13 train sets for a total of 104 cars with a capacity of 2,242 passengers per train. “The prototype trains will be delivered by the third quarter of 2021,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
Tugade said the partial operations from Valenzuela to Malolos were expected to start by the end of 2021.
PNR Clark Phase 1 is a 37.6-kilometer elevated mass railway from Tutuban to Malolos. It will have 10 stations in Tutuban, Solis, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiginto and Malolos. Taisei Corp. and D.M. Consunji Inc. will build the project.
Once operational by the fourth quarter of 2021, travel time from Manila to Malolos would be reduced from one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes. The rail line is also expected to serve 300,000 passengers daily.
PNR Clark Phase 1 is funded by official development assistance from Japan through Japan International Cooperation Agency under a 241.991-billion-yen or P93.457-billion loan agreement signed in November 2015.
PNR Clark Phase 1 forms part of the North-South Commuter Railway Project―a mega rail network that aims to seamlessly integrate the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon through PNR Clark Phases 1 and 2 (Tutuban-Malolos and Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba (Manila-Laguna).
The entire NSCR line aims to serve 700,000 passengers daily once fully operational by 2023.
http://www.manilastandard.net/business/biz-plus/299952/govt-signs-p12-b-deal-to-buy-japanese-trains-for-malolos-rail.html
The Tutuban-Malolos rail system represents Phase 1 of Philippine National Railways’ Clark Railway Project. Phase 2 will extend it from Malolos to Clark Freeport in Pampanga province.
Under the Phase 1 contract, J-Trec-Sumitomo will manufacture and deliver 13 train sets for a total of 104 cars with a capacity of 2,242 passengers per train. “The prototype trains will be delivered by the third quarter of 2021,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
Tugade said the partial operations from Valenzuela to Malolos were expected to start by the end of 2021.
PNR Clark Phase 1 is a 37.6-kilometer elevated mass railway from Tutuban to Malolos. It will have 10 stations in Tutuban, Solis, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiginto and Malolos. Taisei Corp. and D.M. Consunji Inc. will build the project.
Once operational by the fourth quarter of 2021, travel time from Manila to Malolos would be reduced from one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes. The rail line is also expected to serve 300,000 passengers daily.
PNR Clark Phase 1 is funded by official development assistance from Japan through Japan International Cooperation Agency under a 241.991-billion-yen or P93.457-billion loan agreement signed in November 2015.
PNR Clark Phase 1 forms part of the North-South Commuter Railway Project―a mega rail network that aims to seamlessly integrate the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon through PNR Clark Phases 1 and 2 (Tutuban-Malolos and Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba (Manila-Laguna).
The entire NSCR line aims to serve 700,000 passengers daily once fully operational by 2023.
http://www.manilastandard.net/business/biz-plus/299952/govt-signs-p12-b-deal-to-buy-japanese-trains-for-malolos-rail.html
DOTr inks contract with Japanese firms for Tutuban-Malolos railway
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| A model of the train to be used in the Tutuban-Malolos Railway. John Mark Guda, ABS-CBN News |
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) signed a contract on Tuesday with Japanese firms for the production of trains for a new railway stretching from Tutuban in Manila to Malolos in Bulacan.
The new 38-kilometer railway promises to cut travel time between Tutuban and Malolos to just 35 minutes from the current 1.5 hours.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade led the formal contract signing for the project with Japanese companies Sumitomo Corp and Japan Transport Engineering Company.
The contract covers the production of 13 trainsets, with each trainset having 8 cars or 104 coaches in total.
A prototype of the train, which is designed to carry 2,242 passengers, was presented to the members of the media.
"This is the reason why we are all here today—to sign an agreement where the trains you see, the prototype you see, will come into fruition by 2021. The first agenda is to come to an agreement and principle that we will strive to work together so that we will realize the Tutuban to Malolos route by the end of 2021," Tugade said.
The project is worth P12.1 billion and is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It is the third of four contracts signed for the railway.
DOTr said Contract Package 1, signed on May 20, covers the construction of a depot and six train stations namely: Solis in Tondo, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue.
Contract Package 2, meanwhile was signed on January 23 and covers the construction of stations in Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos.
Tugade said they expect delivery of the first batch of trains for the Tutuban-Malolos segment by the third quarter of 2021.
Tugade hopes the new railway can be partially operational by the end of 2021, and for it to be fully operational by 2022.
The DOTr said the construction of all these train stations is already in "full swing."
The Tutuban-Malolos railway, dubbed as PNR Clark Phase 1, is part of a planned train system that will stretch from Pampanga to Laguna, called the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR). With a report from John Mark Guda, ABS-CBN News
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/16/19/dotr-inks-contract-with-japanese-firms-for-tutuban-malolos-railway
MORE TRAINS | DOTr signs purchase contract for PNR trains with Japan firms
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to receive from Japan 13 trainsets for the Philippine Railways Tutuban-Malolos route.
The DOTr signed on Tuesday the P12-billion loan contract with Sumitomo Corporation, Japan Transport Engineering Company and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Each train set consists of 8 cars which can accommodate 2,242 passengers.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said the trainsets will be funded through JICA, and designed similarly to Japan’s high-speed Shinkansen trains.
“Kung titingnan nyo ho ang mga kapartner natin dito mga Hapon. Ang ibig hong sabihin ‘nun, ‘yung mga tren na darating at gagawin nila ay more or less better doon sa mga tren na tumatakbo sa Japan ngayon.”
The rail project is part of the PNR Clark Phase 1 which also includes the construction of six stations from Solis to Bocaue.
Tugade said the department plans to partially operate the Tutuban-Malolos route before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down on June 30, 2022.
To fast-track the project, Tugade said the DOTr remains on target to complete the demolition of structures along the Tutuban-Malolos route.
https://news.tv5.com.ph/breaking/read/more-trains-dotr-signs-purchase-contract-for-pnr-trains-with-japan-firms|
The DOTr signed on Tuesday the P12-billion loan contract with Sumitomo Corporation, Japan Transport Engineering Company and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Each train set consists of 8 cars which can accommodate 2,242 passengers.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said the trainsets will be funded through JICA, and designed similarly to Japan’s high-speed Shinkansen trains.
“Kung titingnan nyo ho ang mga kapartner natin dito mga Hapon. Ang ibig hong sabihin ‘nun, ‘yung mga tren na darating at gagawin nila ay more or less better doon sa mga tren na tumatakbo sa Japan ngayon.”
The rail project is part of the PNR Clark Phase 1 which also includes the construction of six stations from Solis to Bocaue.
Tugade said the department plans to partially operate the Tutuban-Malolos route before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down on June 30, 2022.
To fast-track the project, Tugade said the DOTr remains on target to complete the demolition of structures along the Tutuban-Malolos route.
https://news.tv5.com.ph/breaking/read/more-trains-dotr-signs-purchase-contract-for-pnr-trains-with-japan-firms|
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