DOTr inks design contract for MRT-4

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed the deal for the shadow operator consultant (SOC) of the Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) to kick off the development of the new rail line.

The DOTr yesterday signed the SOC agreement for the MRT-4 with Brisbane-based Ricardo Rail Australia Pty Ltd., allowing the proposed railway to begin with its pre-construction phase.

As the SOC, Ricardo Rail is tasked to prepare the design on how MRT-4 should be operated and maintained by its future concessionaire.

In particular, Ricardo Rail will identify, define, and craft the operation and maintenance (O&M) requirements of the MRT-4 to ensure that the rail project complies with international standards. It will also come up with procedures detailing how the engineering and architectural design of the MRT-4 should be followed.

During the signing, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista stressed the importance of building the MRT-4 given the need for additional mass transport around Metro Manila. He added that the railway would help decongest road traffic in Pasig City and Mandaluyong City.

“Once operational, the more than 400,000 passengers expected to ride the MRT-4 would be more than grateful for solving the perennial traffic issue along the stretch of Ortigas Avenue,” Bautista said.

The MRT-4 will be financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through a loan scheduled for release this year.

Last year Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez confirmed to the STAR that the DOTr has upgraded the MRT-4 to a metro rail from monorail, and that the ADB is set to issue the $1 billion loan for the project this year.

The DOTr has decided to change the MRT-4 into a metro rail system for capacity, maintainability, and expandability purposes. Prior to the adjustment, the government had wanted to make MRT-4 a monorail to require less space for its operations.

Spanish multinational IDOM Consulting, Engineering and Architecture, has been tasked to come up with the detailed architectural and engineering design of the railway and to propose three options in putting up the rail line. However, IDOM said that the metro rail design fits MRT-4 best.

Likewise, turning the MRT-4 into a metro rail system ensures that the government can easily fix and improve the infrastructure on the availability of technical suppliers for such a railway.

Based on the alignment, MRT-4 will run for a total of 10 stations, beginning with EDSA Station near Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City, up to Taytay Station beside the Taytay Public Market in Rizal.