A railway renaissance

Under the ambitious 30-year railway master plan that Transportation Secretary Jaime “Jimmy” Bautista is preparing for presentation to President Marcos, the government is hoping to spur a renaissance in the Philippine railway system that will help ease the still chaotic and congested traffic problem of Metro Manila and will likewise spur economic activity in the North Luzon corridor.

In his talk with members of the Monday Club earlier this week at the Westin Hotel in Ortigas, Secretary Bautista revealed snippets of the updated master plan that his department is preparing with the help of the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The DOTr is hoping to modernize the neglected Philippine railway system and equip it with state of the art equipment and systems, with preference for an electrified railway as opposed to the old diesel- powered trains. It will be designed to accommodate and be friendly to  persons with disabilities and senior citizens.

Per ADB and JICA requirements,  safety and convenience measures will also  be included and  implemented as part of the railway masterplan that JICA and ADB are helping the DOTr craft. For instance, Secretary Bautista pointed out, the current light rail system we have does not have safety gates installed, which has resulted in a few unfortunate incidents of some riders falling onto the tracks either by accident or some malicious acts.

Likewise, the current LRT and MRT structures failed to include adequate people movers such as escalators and elevators, which particularly impacts PWDs and senior citizens, and also makes the system less efficient in quickly moving people.

Secretary Bautista clarified that all of the existing railway projects that are already being constructed or are about to start actually have a master plan. However, some need to be updated,  and based on the ADB and JICA’s recommendations should also include a more comprehensive plan for future urban development, an area in which Secretary Bautista welcomes private sector involvement in areas of township development.

Funding for the railway system admittedly, Secretary Bautista explained, must come from the government as railway projects “are very costly infrastructure projects,  are capital intensive, and the rate of return is not that really that good.”

However, the DOTr head stressed, “the government’s  contribution is the economic benefit, not the profit. It is difficult having  the private sector supporting it.”

Thus, for the new railway projects that the government is completing that include the MRT 3, North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the Metro Manila Subway, Secretary Bautista said, “We plan to have this operated by the private sector. We will construct it, we will complete it, but when it becomes operational we will ask the private sector to operate and maintain it, like LRT 1 is  operated by the  Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC).”

He also revealed that LRMC has submitted an unsolicited  proposal, with new partners, to do the operation and maintenance. A move that the DOTr welcomes  that would allow LRMC to operate the MRT 3 and  LRT 1, “forming one loop lang from Taft Avenue to Baclaran…like a circle line.”

NSCR

According to Secretary Bautista,  full construction of the NSCR, a 147-kilometer railway system from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna, is ongoing at an estimated cost of P870 billion, which is being  funded by JICA and the ADB. The railway system can accommodate 800,000 to one million passengers a day at full capacity. The NSCR will reduce travel time from Clark to Calamba from  four hours to two hours. It will have one special express train from Clark to Makati, resulting in a 45 minute train ride.

The DOTr, Secretary Bautista said, has awarded almost all of  the contract packages except for two as the government is reviewing part of two packages with the ADB,  “because we might change the alignment of one sector which is not really a major change.”

The DOTr expects partial operation from Clark to Valenzuela by 2027, and completion by 2029. Secretary Bautista acknowledged that the NSCR project will not be fully completed during the  full term of President Marcos, “but it will be almost complete by that time. We have  many contractors from Japan, Korea, Turkey…”

A major issue affecting construction is problems with ROW, as government has to relocate informal settler families estimated at around 15,000 to 20,000 in Pampanga and Bulacan, and another 15,000 in Laguna and the Cavite areas.

The DOTR two weeks ago did groundbreaking of the third NSCR depot in Calamba,  a 34-hectare property, but it faces some funding issues. The first depot is located in Clark, while the  second is in Valenzuela. Secretary Bautista also revealed that the DOTr  has already  ordered the rolling stock train during the previous government, but delivery was delayed by pandemic.

Metro Manila Subway

The second major rail operation of the government is  the Metro Manila Subway, a  33-kilometer underground railway project that starts in Valenzuela near the  boundary of Quezon City, which will have 17 stations from Valenzuela up to Bicutan, Secretary Bautista said.

Only three contract packages have not been awarded, but the DOTr hopes to  award them by end of the year. “All contracts have been reviewed by the ADB and JICA, which are happy with terms, costing, scope of work, but it takes time to approve the project, the Transportation Secretary said. “We at least have peace of mind cost is reasonable … if cost is quite high,  ADB and JICA will not agree.”

Bautista assured stakeholders though that “we also allow contractors a reasonable rate of profit, also just fair.”

Unfortunately, even though the Metro Manila Subway is an underground system, it is also subject to some ROW issues, such as concerns from homeowners of Corinthian Gardens. It turns out that if the underground system is not below 50 meters, the government needs to get consent from owners. As the planned subway is  deepest at only 30 meters, government needs to get their consent. The DOTr has already met with some residents to solve the  problem.

Another ROW issue affecting the Metro Manila Subway project is with regard to the ownership of a major station, Metrowalk, along Ortigas avenue, and issues with some tenants who want assurance that they are allotted space in the station.

Trains for the Metro Manila Subway, Secretary Bautista said are almost complete,  but are in storage in different areas in Japan. The subway project is projected to be  finished in 2029 at  a cost of  P480 billion and  will reduce travel time from Valenzuela to Bicutan from two hours to 45 minutes, and will carry up to 500,000 passengers a day

According to Secretary Bautista, “these two major products will really help reduce travel time and reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila.”