The Metro Manila Subway and other railway projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) offer something to look forward to for commuters as these are seen to ease traffic congestion on major roads in the country once fully operational.
"Malaki po ang maibabawas sa traffic hindi lang ng subway kundi pati na rin ang 13 railway projects sa Metro Manila at iba pang rehiyon kasama ang Mindanao (The subway and the other 13 railway projects in Metro Manila and other regions including Mindanao will significantly reduce the traffic on our roads)," Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy Batan said during the Laging Handa virtual briefing on Tuesday, February 8.
According to Batan, the Metro Manila subway will have eight train coaches -- longer than the current major railways in the capital region with three to four coaches only -- that can serve more than 2,500 passengers.
"Some of these passengers, instead of using a car or riding road a bus or a jeep, will transfer to our train systems which we hope will contribute to the easing of congestion in our road transport," Batan said in Filipino.
Batan also assured that works on the country's first underground railway system will start very soon following the arrival of the 74-ton cutter head of the first among the six tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from Japan that will be used for the partial operability section of the Metro Manila Subway Project.
The transport official said other TBM equipment and materials are expected to arrive in the country by March or April this year and will be assembled by the third quarter of 2021.
The P350-billion project is eyed to be completed in 2025. Some 85 percent of the cost was loaned from Japan and will be paid in up to 40 years, with a 12-year grace period and 0.1 percent interest, Batan added.
The Metro Manila Subway is the first underground railway system in the country that will provide the most modern mass transportation in the National Capital Region from Valenzuela City to Bicutan, Parañaque, and NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay, and will further stretch across north and south zones of the Greater Manila Area.