Metro Manila Subway

The Metro Manila Subway,[5] formerly known as the Mega Manila Subway (MMS), is an underground rapid transit line currently under construction in Metro Manila, Philippines. The 36-kilometer (22 mi) line, which will run north–south between Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, and Pasay, consists of 15 stations between the Quirino Highway and FTI stations. It will become the country's second direct airport rail link after the North–South Commuter Railway, with a branch line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

"Manila Subway" redirects here. For the subway line in Makati, Metro Manila, see Makati Intra-city Subway.

Metro Manila Subway
Concept art for the line
Overview
Other name(s)	Metro Manila Subway (MMS) Mega Manila Subway
Type	Rapid transit
Status	Under construction
Locale	Metro Manila (phase 1) Bulacan and Cavite (phases 2 and 3)
Termini	Quirino Highway (north) NAIA Terminal 3 or FTI (south)
Stations	15 (phase 1)[1]
Daily ridership	370,000 (projected)[2]
Line number	9
Operation
Opened	2022 (partial), 2025 (full)[3]
Operator(s)	Department of Transportation
Depot(s)	Brgy. Ugong, Valenzuela
Technical
Line length	36 km (22 mi) (phase 1)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC OHLE[4]
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Route map Valenzuela depot East Valenzuela Valenzuela Quezon City Quirino Highway Tandang Sora North Avenue Grand Central Station 3(7) Quezon Avenue 3(8) MRT Line 3 to Taft East Avenue Anonas LRT Line 2 to Recto - to Santolan Katipunan Quezon City Pasig Ortigas (4) Shaw Pasig River Pasig Makati Kalayaan (5) Makati Taguig Bonifacio Global City Lawton PNR Metro Commuter Line to Governor Pascual/Tutuban Nichols Senate FTI (PNR) PNR Metro Commuter Line to Alabang/Calamba Taguig Pasay NAIA Terminal 3

MMS's groundbreaking took place on February 27, 2019,[6][7] and construction began the following December. It will be partially opened in 2022 and fully operational by 2025.[3] Expected to cost ₱227 billion (equivalent to US$4.5 billion in 2017 dollars), the line is the most expensive transportation project undertaken by the Duterte administration.[8][9] Much of its cost is covered by a loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); the first part of a ¥104.5-billion loan was signed in March 2018.[10]

The Metro Manila Subway is designed to connect with other urban rail transit services in the region. Riders may transfer to LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3, and MRT Line 7 at the North Avenue Common station, which is also currently under construction. Other connections include the existing LRT Line 2 and PNR Metro Commuter Line, as well as the planned Makati Intra-city Subway and MRT Line 8.

History

Background

A fully underground rapid rail system in Metro Manila, initially named Mega Manila Subway, was proposed in the 2014 Metro Manila Dream Plan as a 57.7-kilometer line that would serve as the second north–south mass transit backbone for the newly expanded Greater Capital Region (the first being the North-South Commuter Railway). The Metro Manila Dream Plan (Mega Manila Dream Plan or Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas) is an integrated plan, created on the basis of recommendations from a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)[11] and was approved the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board in June 2014, lasting until 2030. The program aims to improve the transport system in Metro Manila, Philippines, with the hope of turning it into a focal point for addressing Metro Manila's interlinked problems in the areas of transportation, land use, and environment.[12][13]

However, the idea had been forwarded as early as 1973, when the JICA (at the time known as the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency or OTCA) and former Secretary of Public Works and Highways David Consunji conducted a study on what shall later be Metro Manila (formally constituted on November 7, 1975). It was also proposed to be part of the 1977 MMetroplan, which even received approval from the World Bank. However, the plan was not included and implemented, for some of the areas included in the plan, such as Marikina and Cainta, are prone to flooding.[14][15][16] Instead, what was built was the Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1, opened on December 1, 1984 and completed on May 12, 1985.[17] Nevertheless, the current Manila Light Rail Transit System (mostly elevated) is shorter than the line system forwarded in 1973.[16]

The 1973 plan provided for the construction of five lines. The first line (Line 1) would have extended 27.1 kilometers from Constitution Hills (now Batasan Hills), Quezon City to Talon, Las Piñas; the second line (Line 2) for 36 kilometers from Novaliches, Quezon City to Cainta, Rizal, Line 3 for 24.3 kilometers throughout Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. The fourth line (Line 4) would have extended 30.1 kilometers from Marikina to Zapote, Bacoor, and the fifth line 17.6 kilometers from Rizal Avenue, Manila to Meycauayan, Bulacan. If this plan had been carried out, it would have been completed by 1988.[16]

Development

A loan agreement was signed between President Duterte and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in November 2017.[18] On March 16, 2018, Japan signed the first part of a 104.5-billion-yen (approx. US$957 million) loan for the subway.[10] In November 2018, OC Global, a Japanese consortium consisting of Oriental Consultants Global Co. Ltd., Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd., Katahira & Engineers International, Pacific Consultants Co Ltd., Tonichi Engineering Consultants, Inc., and Metro Development Co. Ltd., was awarded the PHP 11 billion contract to build the line.[19][20]

It is planned to begin partial operations by 2022,[10] with three stations, Qurino Highway, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue, open.[21] In June 2018, soil testing was conducted along the alignment. Massive TBMs will be employed for the project. In line with this, DOTR, PNR and JICA personnel inspected actual tunnel boring machines in Japan, estimated to arrive in May 2019.[22][23]

On February 25, 2019, a Japanese-Filipino consortium, consisting of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp., Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. Ltd. and EEI won the design-and-build contract for the first three stations, or its partial operability section.[1]

10 months after the project's groundbreaking, construction begun its clearing phase in Valenzuela on December 21, 2019.[24][25] As part of the Partial Operability Section, the first three stations will be built alongside the Philippine Railway Institute (PRI), the country's first-ever railway training center.[24]

Design

The line will be the third high-capacity, heavy rail line in the country, after the Line 2, and Line 7, and the first to be mostly underground. It is designed to run trains at 80 kilometers per hour. The tunnel diameter inside and outside is projected to be 5.2 meters and 5.65 meters, respectively.[26] Since there are estimates of an expected magnitude-7.2 earthquake (which can be as powerful as magnitude 7.6) in the Marikina Valley Fault System,[27] it is designed to withstand a magnitude-8.0 earthquake. In addition, it may not be entirely underground. Assessment of the environmental and geographical considerations in the base alignment (initially 74.6 kilometers long) recommends 18% of the line to be at-grade and 9% to be running through viaduct.[26] Prior to final approval, some adjustments to the alignment were done so that it would reduce the risk of damage during earthquakes by traveling along solid adobe ground.

The stations would have design features such as water-stop panels, a high-level entrance for flood prevention, earthquake detection, and a train stop system, akin to the Tokyo subway.[28]

The major stations of the line are planned to have 2 platform levels, one for a local train service and another for express routes. These stations are planned to have 6 floors designed for 2 platform floors, commercial shops, ticketing facilities and other amenities.[29]

Seven of the proposed stations, namely NAIA Terminal 3, Bicutan, Senate, Lawton, Katipunan, Quezon Avenue and North Avenue stations will be built on government property in order to boost property values on the surrounding area.[30]

Rolling stock

While the line itself is not yet in operation, the requirements for the rolling stock in accordance to the projected design are already available. Average train speed is expected to be at 80 kilometers per hour (Line 1 trains run at the average speed of 40 kilometers per hour).[31] Trains will consist of six cars, with a capacity of 412 passengers per car, each car projected to cost US$2.5 million (124.5 million pesos as of 2017).[26]

In February 2019, DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan announced the Department's plan to initially procure 19 trainsets with an 8-car configuration, but added that more traincars maybe optionally procured to fit the 10-car capacity of the stations.[32]

On July 2020, the Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-Trec) and the Sumitomo Corporation submitted a bid proposal for the acquisition of new train sets for the project. The proposal consists of 240 vehicles, or 30 trains sets in an 8 car configuration.[33]

Proposed network

The project involves the construction of 17 stations in its first phase (listed from north to south):[26][34]

Station	District/Barangay	Transfers	Location
East Valenzuela	Ugong	none	Valenzuela
Quirino Highway	Novaliches		Quezon City
Tandang Sora	Tandang Sora
North Avenue Grand Central Station	Diliman	LRT Line 1 3 MRT Line 3 7 MRT Line 7
Quezon Avenue		3 MRT Line 3
East Avenue		none
Anonas	Project 3	LRT Line 2
Katipunan	Camp Aguinaldo	none
Ortigas	San Antonio	4 MRT Line 4 via Meralco	Pasig
Shaw		none
Kalayaan	West Rembo	5 Makati Intra-city Subway	Makati
BGC	Fort Bonifacio	none	Taguig
Lawton
Senate
FTI	Western Bicutan	Metro Commuter Line  NSCR  North–South Commuter Railway Taguig Integrated Terminal Exchange
Bicutan		NSCR  North–South Commuter Railway
NAIA Terminal 3	Tambo	NAIA Terminal 3	Parañaque / Pasay
Stations and train systems in italics are either under construction or proposed.

The first phase was initially planned to be 21.6 kilometers long.[26] However, it is estimated to be actually 25 kilometers long.[18] The following phases of the subway project would involve extending lines up to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, north of Metro Manila (15.4 kilometers from the proposed Mindanao Avenue station), and down to Dasmariñas, Cavite, south of Metro Manila (20.7 kilometers from the proposed Ninoy Aquino International Airport station). The entire system, when completed, will serve up to 1.74 million passengers daily.[26]

The initial plan was later modified, with DOTr adding the East Valenzuela, Lawton, and Senate stations.[35] The East Valenzuela station will be located in the subway's depot, while the Lawton and Senate station replaced the Cayetano Boulevard station. However, these modifications are subject to the approval of NEDA and JICA.[35]

JICA also proposes a physical connection and interoperability between the North-South Commuter Railway Project and MMS. It proposes MMS rolling stock to switch over to the at-grade NSCR-South tracks around the FTI area, via a physical connection of the tracks and electrical supply, and operate through services to NSCR-South stations from Bicutan towards Calamba and vice versa.[36].

The spur line towards NAIA Terminal 3 is also being considered to be expanded to cover all the other terminals of the airport, eventually meeting with the LRT-1 at the planned Asia World station of the LRT-1 extension to serve the PITX.

References

1. Mercurio, Richmond (February 25, 2019). "Japan-Filipino consortium bags Metro Manila subway project". philstar.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
2. "Mega Manila Subway". Philippine Infrastructure Transparency Portal. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
3. Camus, Miguel R. "Metro Manila to kick off construction of P350-B subway in January". Inquirer.net. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
4. "The 1500 V DC power shall be collected from the overhead line system using electrically-operated pantographs." "Metro Manila Subway Phase 1, Contract Package Volume 2: Specifications". Department of Transportation (Philippines). Retrieved June 8, 2020.
5. "Urban and Inter-urban Rail Projects" (PDF). www.investphilippines.info.
6. Cabuenas, Jon Viktor D. (February 13, 2019). "DOTr resets Manila subway groundbreaking to Feb. 26". GMA News Online. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
7. "DOTr eyes Feb. 27 Metro Manila subway launch". Manila Bulletin News. February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
8. Dela Paz, Chrisee (August 22, 2016). "Duterte admin revives plan to build Metro Manila subway". Rappler. Public-Private Partnership Center. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
9. "Japan set to fund Metro Manila subway, 2 other rail projects". Public-Private Partnership Center. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
10. "Metro Manila Subway: PH, Japan sign loan deal". ABS-CBN News. March 16, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
11. Dela Paz, C. J. V. (September 2, 2014). "Plan seeks to untangle gridlock". Business World. New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines: BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
12. (The Philippines) MEGA MANILA INFRASTRUCTURE ROADMAP (Long Ver.). JICAChannel02: The Official Global Channel of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Republic of the Philippines National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). June 10, 2014.
13. Main Points of the Roadmap (PDF) (Report). Japan International Cooperation Agency. September 2014.
14. Garcia, Cathy Rose. "Why gov't rejected subway for Metro Manila in the 1970s". Public-Private Partnership Center. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
15. Palafox, Felino A., Jr. (June 3, 2015). "1977 plan still remains to be carried out". The Manila Times. Retrieved April 20, 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. Jose, Ricardo; Mabazza, Daniel; Lagman, Marco Stefan; Villasper, Jonathan. "Planning Metro Manila's Mass Transit System" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
17. "The LRT Line 1 System – The Yellow Line. ca. 2010". Light Rail Transit Authority. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
18. Ranada, Pia (April 18, 2017). "Duterte, Abe may sign Mega Manila subway deal in November". Rappler. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
19. Nicolas, Bernadette D. (November 22, 2018). "Government awards P11-billion subway contract to Japanese group". BusinessMirror. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
20. "Japanese consortium bags subway contract". The Manila Times Online. November 22, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
21. Vera, Ben O. de (March 16, 2018). "1st 3 Metro Manila subway stations seen operational by 2022". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
22. "Department of Transportation – Philippines". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
23. "DOTr signs deal for Metro Manila Subway's first 3 stations". Rappler. February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
24. Talabong, Rambo (December 21, 2019). "LOOK: Metro Manila Subway construction enters clearing phase". Rappler. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
25. Cordero, Ted (December 21, 2019). "DOTr begins clearing 'partial operability' site for Metro Manila subway". GMA News Online. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
26. "Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas (Region III and Region IV-A): SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT ON MEGA MANILA SUBWAY PROJECT" (PDF). National Economic and Development Authority. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
27. Nelson, Alan R.; Personius, Stephen F.; Rimando, Rolly E.; Punongbayan, Raymundo S.; Tungol, Norman; Mirabueno, Hannah; Rasdas, Ariel (2000). "Multiple Large Earthquakes in the Past 1500 Years on a Fault in Metropolitan Manila, the Philippines". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. Seismological Society of America. 90 (1): 84. doi:10.1785/0119990002.
28. Abadilla, Emmie V. (February 28, 2019). "36-km P355.6-B Metro subway launched". Manila Bulletin Business. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
29. "Konstruksiyon ng Metro Manila Subway sisimulan na" [Construction of Metro Manila Subway will start]. ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog). February 27, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
30. Pateña, Aerol John (March 6, 2019). "6 subway stations to rise on gov't properties". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
31. "Metro Manila Subway". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
32. Catherine Talavera (February 28, 2019). "Construction begins on Metro Manila Subway". Philstar. The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
33. https://www.bworldonline.com/j-trec-group-bids-for-subway-train-sets/
34. Tan, Lara (April 19, 2017). "'Ambitious' Metro Manila subway to be built by 2024 – DOTr". CNN Philippines. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
35. Balinbin, Arjay L. (June 2, 2020). "Gov't adds more stations to Metro Manila subway". BusinessWorld. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
36. Feasibility Study on the North South Railway Project-South Line (Commuter) in the Republic of the Philippines: DRAFT FINAL REPORT (PDF) (Report). Japan International Cooperation Agency. October 2018.

External links

• JICA: The Mega Manila Subway Project