These extensions and expansions plans for Metro Manila's or [being geographically correct] CALABARZON's + Central Luzon's, all seem confusing to me. Which plan is which? There has been so many revisions to the masterplans it has gotten so bizarrely confusing!

So...how many lines will there, eventually, be anyway? :?

Yes it is forget about all the old annoucements. The current one is to extend LRT1 line and connect it to MRT3. Hopefully it will be a seamless connection.

Line 6 is also just an extension of line1.

Only line 7 is a totally new line.

Northrail and southrail are basically rehabilitation of the old PNR lines. The north needing much more rehabilitation than the south which is sort of still operational.


All in all I look forward to this kung mapatuloy na nila ito for the next year. It would be very good to close that loop. Millions will benefit from such a move.

Ah...ok. Thanks. :D :cheers2:

So...

Line 1: LRT-1
Line 2: LRT-2
Line 3: MRT-3 (MetroStar Express)
Line 4: ???
Line 5: ???
Line 6: LRT-1 (extension)
Line 7: MRT-7
Line 8: Northrail Inter-city Line
Line 9: Southrail Inter-city Line

^^ So, what will be Line 4 and Line 5? :?

Ah...ok. Thanks. :D :cheers2:

So...

Line 1: LRT-1
Line 2: LRT-2
Line 3: MRT-3 (MetroStar Express)
Line 4: ???
Line 5: ???
Line 6: LRT-1 (extension)
Line 7: MRT-7
Line 8: Northrail Inter-city Line
Line 9: Southrail Inter-city Line

^^ So, what will be Line 4 and Line 5? :?

line 8 is actually the one from V.Mapa, Manila to Angono, Rizal., to be extended all the way to laguna.,

the northrail and southrail isnt part of the lrt and mrt numberings.,

line 4 is virtually dead, since it will overlap some parts of MRT7 and since banned na ang further construction ng overhead light rail lines sa city of manila., (not so so sure about the banned part though., hehehe.., ) MRT4 runs from old bilibid (in front of FEU-to connect to LRT2 recto stn) to fairview. although there has been some news dito sa forum na to dati na kasama sa proposal ng proponents ng MRT7 ang provisions para sa MRT4., not so sure though., kasi mega sa kabagalan ang proponents ng MRT4.,

and can anyone correct me., is Line 5 the circular subway line?
----------------------------------------------------------------

i'm already assuming that the MRT7 is the only completely new line that we'll see in the near future., since most of the plans are extensions and rehabilitation.,

So, ganito pala ang numbering system ng Metro Manila LRT/MRT Railway Network...

Line 1: LRT-1
Line 2: LRT-2
Line 3: MRT-3 (MetroStar Express)
Line 4: (cancelled)
Line 5: Makati Subway Loop
Line 6: LRT-1 (extension)
Line 7: MRT-7
Line 8: V. Mapa - Laguna

^^ tama ba 'ko...?

So, ganito pala ang numbering system ng Metro Manila LRT/MRT Railway Network...

Line 1: LRT-1
Line 2: LRT-2
Line 3: MRT-3 (MetroStar Express)
Line 4: (cancelled)
Line 5: Makati Subway Loop
Line 6: LRT-1 (extension)
Line 7: MRT-7
Line 8: V. Mapa - Laguna

^^ tama ba 'ko...?

yep yep., pretty much like that., although., line 4 isnt necesarily cancelled., nawawala lang talaga proponents niya., :)

and line 5 isnt only in makati., iikutin niya ang manila mandaluyong pasig taguig makati etc.,., pero mukhang malabo narin to since it has alignment issues with line8., and the right of way for this would cost us too much., :)

v. mapa to laguna. via angono. that's gud news!! hope they build it sooner than l8r!! :banana:

I wonder what the Makati loop would be. Is this line going to connect the underpasses along Ayala Ave?

I wonder what the Makati loop would be. Is this line going to connect the underpasses along Ayala Ave?

the orange one which also connects to Naia.

the green one is supposedly MRT4, but if you can see, it does overlap with QC Circle-Comonwealth section of MRT 7.

http://www.cis.com.ph/new/esourcing/images/metro_manila_map.jpg

I don't get it. why don't they just extend the MRT-7 up to Espana? That route is very much congested. And many students and passengers would surely use that route.

About the subway/overhead train debate, I'm going for the overhead. First things first, subways can be good, but can sometimes be boring. And it's best if they extend the trains to the best areas possible.

^Yeah, subways can be boring but there are instances where overhead lines could cause a decline in business and the community as a whole like what happened in Rizal Ave. in Quiapo.

I don't get it. why don't they just extend the MRT-7 up to Espana? That route is very much congested. And many students and passengers would surely use that route.

diba banned na ang construction ng overhead lines sa manila.,? i read that somewhere here long time ago.,

^talaga? as if may pera ang Manila pampatayo ng subway. Duh! Kamusta naman traffic sa Manila kapag walang LRT/MRT? ahaha

^^ Hay...
In connection to the other thread "OFW's and Condos" the MRT really is a useful transpo facility for far-off places.

I saw these tracks heading towards Makati CBD (underground) near Buendia Station while I was on the MRT. What were these for? A spur line under Ayala Avenue?

http://www.cis.com.ph/new/esourcing/images/metro_manila_map.jpg

^^ Any chance of a UP-Ateneo-Eastwood City-Ortigas line?

^^ Any chance of a UP-Ateneo-Eastwood City-Ortigas line?

Pagkaalam ko may gagawing spur line ang MRT-7 mula Tandang Sora to LRT-2 Katipunan Station..

Well, I think some portions of LRT8 will use the South Rail...It follows that LRT 8 is a heavy rail line of narrow guage track extension of Northrail (50kg of rail) that will orginate from northrail station in caloocan down to Fort Bonifacio all the way to NAIA.from Caloocan LRT 8 will use portion of Southrail from Caloocan to Sta.Mesa and proceed to Shaw Boulevard as an elevated carriageway running on the center island of shaw to Pasig City and goes down to Fort Bonifacio passing through pasig river...If project is done, the southrail line from sta.mesa to caloocan would be multitracks (maybe 5tracks running parallel to each other)....

Possible Lines that will use the Sta.Mesa to Caloocan Tracks....

1. PNR Longdistance (Bicol Express, Penafrancia Express, Kaunlaran Express, Mayon Limited) 5-6 round trips per/day...Every 5hrs.
2. Commuter Line (Passing All stations) to Calamba...Every 5 mins
3. Commuter Rapid Line (with limited stations) to Calamba...Every 30 mins
4. Batangas Express Commuter..Every 1hr.
5. Sta. Cruz Express Commuter..Every 1hr.
6. Northrail Rapid Express line(from Clark Airport to Fort Boni)direct...every 30mins
7. Northrail Commuter Express line(from Clark to Fort Boni) Every 5mins.
8. Northrail Longdistance Line (from San Fernando La Union to Fort Boni) Every 2hrs.
9. Freight from Subic...Every night
10. Freight from ICTC....6x per day
11. Freight from Bicol....Every day
12. Freight Train from Batangas...6x day
13. Commuter Line from Subic...Every Hour
14. Express train from tuguegarao...Every 5 hrs...

Thats why they really want to get the tracks as wide as possible to accomodate more tracks.....in the future....

^^i think there were several articles before, that says that line 8 would run the route of vmapa, shaw, ortigas, manila east. that's manila to angono. :)

@allan dude., yep., an article posted here before said that the proponent of MRT7 also plans to build a spur line that would run from tandang sora all the way to katipunan LRT2 station., most probably they wont be able to connect the lines., and another thing is they have to integrate it with the planned extension of c5.,

line 4 is not dead, the proponents want to push it but as noted here City of Manila has passed a resolution discouraging overhead lines. This affects Line 8 as well.

They can not extend line 7 to Espana, that would basiclly mean Line 7 would share nearly 50 percent of its line with line 4. This is still being fought over.

From what I remember line 7 is actually a new line line 4 was the original one.

There is a an abang along buendia station to Ayala Ave for a future spur or loopline in Makati CBD.

Well said Bustero,I totally agree.If we as a nation would want a better transport system as soon as possible,we should pressure GMA to fasttrack ideas like these.Is it too much to ask? To have a feasible transport system that will cater to everyone specially the under privileged like the old,the disabled,pregnant women,kids.These sector of society has been suffering for so long because we have a short sighted,fire man's attitude, transport system.The same sector of people has to contend with the the outdated jeepneys and their drivers everyday,which obviously we know are dangerous because most of the jeepney drivers are rude & obnoxious.
So let's start telling this government of ours to have the balls to tackle our tansport system problem ASAP!Or ship out!









Eventually we will have to move on to a system like this. Unfortunately vested interests make it difficult to make neccesary changes. Even chaning th fuel of buses which is better for everyone and the environment and even their own pocket books is opposed by bus companies.

If GMA is serious about her vision for the RP to be a first world nation by 2020 then plans should already be started to start phasing out jeepneys and tricycles in key metropolises in the next 10 years as these impede productivity and will ultimately prevent growth. A BRT could take the place of these and complement a rail based system.

^^^^ ever consider having enough funds for these??? you can pressure all you want but dude? no money no honey, just like the old saying goes....

Which means, to realize these, the Philippines would look for investors to fund these kind of projects, which in turn would mean more foreign debts...

it does not necessarily mean more debts... what youre doing is that you present your plans to a number of companies who would like to invest on it. They take care of the initial building costs and then have a contract with them on the percentage they gain from the profits when such system is already running... it doesnt necessarily mean we get burndened in debt. All thats needed for it to succeed is careful planning, and of course vision. But atm the government isnt even looking at this possibility.. i think public transport in manila is in shambles when you compare it to other metros around the world.

Basically in a city like Manila where R.O.W acquisition for infrastructure is not feasible anymore due to its expensive cost, I think one possible solution is to build an elevated carriageway of multitraks of at least 4 parallel tracks running in an existing wide avenue or along riverside banks or an underground one...

In the case of LRT7 and LRT4, i think it is feasible to share rails with each other as long as they have the same rail gauge..We have already modern railroad programs that enable trains to share tracks without colliding with each other provided that the block occupied by one train cannot be occupied by another one until the first clears the blocks it had just occupied...The problem with this scheme is that the headway (the distance in time between train) will be widened...If the train in Line7 arrives every 3mins...it will now be 6mins to accommodate also trains in Line4 to pass....Medyo Matagal...so kailangan nilang magdagdag ng extra cars in order to pick large volumes of passenger in one time o kaya magdagdag ng another tracks to maintain the headway of both lines.....

d2 sa atin....3-4cars lang ang train sa LRT while sa ibang bansa mga 8-10 cars each train kaya marami ang nakakasakay....

We must build stations that is also very much accessible to other stations of other lines....dats why mas maganda tlaga na magshare na lang ng tracks kahit mga ilang stations lang..just like in Japan in Taiwan....Lahat ng LRT, Heavyrails and Subways, accessible lahat because they have one common station in one location...:banana:

@wheel_of_steel, is it possible to make an MRT car ala Londoner double decker? It might be far-fetched, but I'm thinking of the feasibility of such strangeness.
At the MRT, napapansin ko lang, there is an intolerable time of delay for some cars. Also, some drivers di makahintay, sinasarado na kaagad ang mga cars.

I think in the railway industry...time is gold....

Nakadepend kc sa time ang operation ng lahat ng train...Any time delay sa mga busy lines would enourmously affect the operation of other trains specially on tracks where one or more trains are using...

d2 sa amin sa Bicol...natatandaan ko nagmamadali ung sinasakyan naming train papuntang manila kaci ung train papuntang Bicol ay naghihintay na sa may Quezon...Pagnadelay kami...madedelay din ung isang train kac hindi puweding magkasabay sa isang riles....

....MORE POWER TO SKYSCRAPERCITY!!!!.....

@wheel_of_steel, is it possible to make an MRT car ala Londoner double decker? It might be far-fetched, but I'm thinking of the feasibility of such strangeness.
At the MRT, napapansin ko lang, there is an intolerable time of delay for some cars. Also, some drivers di makahintay, sinasarado na kaagad ang mga cars.

Yess!!! ...kc I rember when I went to Japan...I saw portions of JR train that is double decked(2 cars)...akala ko Amtrak lang meron n2..m very happy!!! kasi kung meron d2...pwede rin pala satin....

Sana makuha ko yung photo at nang maipost ko....

^^ Ang hirap naman niyan! One of the appeals of the MRT/LRT lines is people can board and depart quickly. If its double decker, it will slow down the boarding process. Its not suitable for most mass rapid transit systems and frankly, our MRT/LRT lines aren't long enough to justify such an inevitable slow turn around time. However, if they do physically connect MRT3 and LRT1 so its a one seat ride from MRT3 Taft to LRT1 Bacoor stations or even connect with LRT7 at Trinoma, it maybe justified (assuming the double decker trains can fit at the stations....)

Yes!!! definitely we cannot inject DoubleDeck cars in our LRT/MRT Systems since it was only designed for Light Rail Train only..Doubledeck Cars are for heavy rail lines that accomodates heavy load just like what were building now...the Southrail and the Northrail...But if we can find a way to interconnect LRT1 to MRT3, then that would be so much worthy..

Here are samples of Doubledeck Narrow Guage Trains from Japan..
http://www.japaneserailwaysociety.com/jrs/month/y03/mar/215shin_kawasaki.jpg
You will notice that the catenary system is very high that can accomodate large cars including this mammoth..This trains runs at max speed of 130kph...

^^ That idea should be in the North Rail/South Rail thread.

If i remember it correctly, sa mga past articles gagamitin raw sa NorthRail ay diesel engines galing China diba? As in sleek looking cho cho trains ata ro-roll out nila.

haha yes they're call DMU Diesel Multiple Units basically looks like a train but has it's own diesel engine driving it. In the short run kasi it's a cheaper system because you dont need to lay out the electrical part.

The closing thing to a metro double decker is sydneys which is not a true subway but a commuter train that runs underneath the city!

I don't think the idea of merging line 4 and 7 by sharing would work as two consortium would have problems valuing the system and financing it.

I'm all for lrt/mrt.There are already plans for this adding up to 3 to 4 more lines. I would even push for even more lines!

But the reality is this type of holistic transport system requires a massive investement to get started that's why a complimentary BRT system would do the trick for certain routes whose lrt's are still not going to be constructed or the routes for which there are no plans at all to have mass based rail.

A good idea of the first one is Line 8. We know line 8 is not going to happen in this administration. They've already listed what they can afford. We also know that even in the next administration it would take years to get this thing start (e.g. when was line 4 and line 7 announced as being started and has it started? NOT haha). IN the meantime 10 years may pass waiting for such a line. In the short run we could already get rid of the 10000 plus jeepneys and FX's plying this route but putting up a BRT. The Gov't doesnot even need to invest much. Just the stations and the systems , the jeepney , fx, bus owner could all invest in the set number of buses with revenue sharing so they dont' need to compete for passengers like they do. The bus design should just be exactly the same and the access is controled by ministations like the curitiba model. Payment can be linked to the Light Rail system and north rail so electronic payment can be used and alighting and getting off can be quick. When the LRT comes the system is easy to get rid off or even move.

This makes even more sense for routes which have no plans of building an lrt line. The ortigas east manila line from EDSA to pasig, taytay, cainta antipolo and beyond could use a line like this and much better if it's a dedicated line.

but diesel needs more maintenance... madaling masira yun pag tumagal

mausok pa pag lumaon..

I totally agree,accordingly with this BRT's, it will only take 3-4 years to actually have a positive impact on the daily lives of the people in Metro Manila.Aside from being a lot cheaper than an LRT/MRT,it's the easiest to start (if there is political will).We could start congestion charging in EDSA,Roxas blvd.,Makati and all the major roads in the metro.This will encourage carpool,lessen the traffic and pollution as well from private vehicles.Why would 1 person riding a private car be more important than the 30-40 people riding a bus?










I'm all for lrt/mrt.There are already plans for this adding up to 3 to 4 more lines. I would even push for even more lines!

But the reality is this type of holistic transport system requires a massive investement to get started that's why a complimentary BRT system would do the trick for certain routes whose lrt's are still not going to be constructed or the routes for which there are no plans at all to have mass based rail.

A good idea of the first one is Line 8. We know line 8 is not going to happen in this administration. They've already listed what they can afford. We also know that even in the next administration it would take years to get this thing start (e.g. when was line 4 and line 7 announced as being started and has it started? NOT haha). IN the meantime 10 years may pass waiting for such a line. In the short run we could already get rid of the 10000 plus jeepneys and FX's plying this route but putting up a BRT. The Gov't doesnot even need to invest much. Just the stations and the systems , the jeepney , fx, bus owner could all invest in the set number of buses with revenue sharing so they dont' need to compete for passengers like they do. The bus design should just be exactly the same and the access is controled by ministations like the curitiba model. Payment can be linked to the Light Rail system and north rail so electronic payment can be used and alighting and getting off can be quick. When the LRT comes the system is easy to get rid off or even move.

This makes even more sense for routes which have no plans of building an lrt line. The ortigas east manila line from EDSA to pasig, taytay, cainta antipolo and beyond could use a line like this and much better if it's a dedicated line.

In the long run they intend to convert it to all electricity. In the short run it's cheaper. Malaki na ang project cost so they want to get some money back first so that we don't need to subsidize it in a big way. Besides not all diesels are that bad of course it does need to be maintained. Pag mahaba ang linya diesel is really an alternative even in developed countries. Besides these units are not like the diesel locomotives you may be thinking off. These units look like electric trains with the diesel engines hidden underneath. I think we have postings of this in this thread when we researched this a few years ago as to what they will look like.

So, ganito pala ang numbering system ng Metro Manila LRT/MRT Railway Network...

Line 1: LRT-1
Line 2: LRT-2
Line 3: MRT-3 (MetroStar Express)
Line 4: (cancelled)
Line 5: Makati Subway Loop
Line 6: LRT-1 (extension)
Line 7: MRT-7
Line 8: V. Mapa - Laguna

^^ tama ba 'ko...?

line 4 was canceled by atienza but might be revived by lim

In the long run they intend to convert it to all electricity. In the short run it's cheaper. Malaki na ang project cost so they want to get some money back first so that we don't need to subsidize it in a big way. Besides not all diesels are that bad of course it does need to be maintained. Pag mahaba ang linya diesel is really an alternative even in developed countries. Besides these units are not like the diesel locomotives you may be thinking off. These units look like electric trains with the diesel engines hidden underneath. I think we have postings of this in this thread when we researched this a few years ago as to what they will look like.

Yess!!! precisely pwede pa rin natin gamitin ung mga GE locomotives natin...Konti lang ang aayusin sa mga ito...Lets' be very practical.Sayang kc pwede naman itong tumakbo ng 80kph to 100kph, ung nga lang hindi talaga kc maayos ang tracks natin.Masyadong mahina ang riles at hindi leveled ang mga crossings at wala pang maayos na signaling system. Kahit ako, pag natapos na ang southrail puntang Bicol gusto ko pa rin makita ung GE Locomotives na umaandar.....:cheers:

In the long run they intend to convert it to all electricity. In the short run it's cheaper. Malaki na ang project cost so they want to get some money back first so that we don't need to subsidize it in a big way. Besides not all diesels are that bad of course it does need to be maintained. Pag mahaba ang linya diesel is really an alternative even in developed countries. Besides these units are not like the diesel locomotives you may be thinking off. These units look like electric trains with the diesel engines hidden underneath. I think we have postings of this in this thread when we researched this a few years ago as to what they will look like.

From what I know the Daewoo and Rotem Comapanies of South Korea are responsible for the supply of rolling stocks to the Southrail...Picture below is the DMU of Thailand Railways.The manufacture is Rotem and the machine is Daewoo...

Would our Soutrail Commuter Trains look like this?
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3839/v538122741us9.jpg

Rotem DMU(Diesel Multiple Units) made cars with Daewoo engines on a 1000mm Narrow Guage Tracks
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f139/Wisarut/Thai%20Railways/South/BangsueDaewoo.jpg

Another Rotem DMU Commuter Train.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f139/Wisarut/Thai%20Railways/South/DaewooHuahin.jpg

please, stay on topic. We have a Northrail/Southrail thread for this kind of discussion.

haha I think our friend wheels has gotten overexcited. Anyway one of the things I'm very curious to find out if northrail and southrail which are being run by different companies (i think)will have an integrated payment system with the LRT system. Much better if they could do that. That way the transfer from Edsa Station of Southrail to Pasong Tamo Station of MRT3 for example will be much easier so walang pilahan uli!

haha I think our friend wheels has gotten overexcited. Anyway one of the things I'm very curious to find out if northrail and southrail which are being run by different companies (i think)will have an integrated payment system with the LRT system. Much better if they could do that. That way the transfer from Edsa Station of Southrail to Pasong Tamo Station of MRT3 for example will be much easier so walang pilahan uli!

^^ Yes...tama!...we have to integrate all of the stations of LRTs and PNR in one location..It would be highly appreciated by the passengers since they don't have to get out of the station just to transfer into the other lines..And I also agree na dapat isang ticketing system lang ang gagamitin...

Actually I've tried this several times already when I went to Japan..Galing ako ng Ueno going to Tokyo Station, about 2station away ..I bought a ticket costing Y150(the minimum fare). While Im on my way to my destination, I changed my mind. Instead of dropping to Tokyo station, I decided to go to Yokohama, some 60km south of Tokyo Station. In order to get there I have to transfer into another line from Tokyo Station. Tokyo Station serves about 8 railway lines including Shinkansen. When I get there, I immediate took a train going to Yokohama without buying another ticket..Pagdating ko ng Yokohama, pinadjust ko na lang ung fare ko through fare adjustment machine..Hindi ko na kailangan pumila sa Tokyo Station para lang bumili ulit ng ticket papuntang Yokohama. That is how fast and simple yung system nila... GALING!!!:okay:

haha I think our friend wheels has gotten overexcited. Anyway one of the things I'm very curious to find out if northrail and southrail which are being run by different companies (i think)will have an integrated payment system with the LRT system. Much better if they could do that. That way the transfer from Edsa Station of Southrail to Pasong Tamo Station of MRT3 for example will be much easier so walang pilahan uli!

I agree. It makes commuting much more efficient from commuter rail from the suburbs to MRT in the city. btw, isnt it Magallanes station?

GMA to Cabinet: Where’s my loop?
By Paolo Romero
Philippine Star
Thursday, July 5, 2007

President Arroyo is becoming impatient over the status of the P6-billion LRT-1 to MRT-3 linkage project.

Sources said Mrs. Arroyo had expressed dismay over the apparent delays in the construction of the link in Metro Manila’s railway system.

“Where’s my loop?” she reportedly demanded.

Sources said she ordered Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando and Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde on Tuesday to ensure the project’s completion by 2010.

The sources added that Mrs. Arroyo wants the bidding for the project to be conducted as soon as possible.

The directive reportedly triggered bickering among the three officials, particularly between Fernando and Mendoza, as to who should be on top of the project. Remonde is also head of the Palace’s Infrastructure Monitoring Task Force.

“They (officials) do not seem to get along very well, especially now with the President’s order,” the source said. Remonde however, denied that there are delays in the construction caused by infighting.

He said the Department of Budget and Management has already released P317 million to fund the feasibility study awarded to Metrolink Joint Venture last May 28. The cost of the feasibility study includes the preparation of bid documents for civil works and construction supervision.

The study is expected to be completed by the end of the month and will be submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority.

Remonde said the bidding for the design and the civil works is expected to start in September.

Mendoza earlier told reporters in Malacañang that rail projects worth $6 billion in Luzon, including the MRT-LRT loop, are expected to be completed by 2010.

The linking of the Monumento Station of LRT-1 to the North Edsa Station of MRT-3 is one of the major programs presented by Mrs. Arroyo during her State of the Nation Address in July last year.

She said the project aims to make travel around Metro Manila faster and cheaper. It entails the construction of three additional stations stretching 5.2 kilometers.

The other major transportation projects are the North Rail Phase 1 Section 1 and Section 2; the South Manila Commuter Railway Phase 1 and 2; and the LRT Line 1 Southern Extension.

The 32.2-kilometer North Rail Section 1 project runs from Caloocan to Malolos, Bulacan and costs $503 million funded by a grant from China. It is expected to be finished by 2008.

Section 2 of the project costs $622.59 million and runs 44 kilometers on a double-track railway including viaducts and long-span bridges from Calumpit, Bulacan to Clark.

The first phase of the Korea-funded South Manila Commuter Railway Project costs $50.42 million and runs 34 kilometers from Caloocan to Alabang. It is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

The second phase, to be completed in 2009, runs 27 kilometers from Alabang to Calamba, Laguna and costs $80.23 million.

Meanwhile, the $683 million LRT Line 1 Southern Extension Project is expected to be finished by 2010. It runs 11.7 kilometers from Monumento to Sucat in Parañaque. Funds for this project come from official development assistance.

I agree. It makes commuting much more efficient from commuter rail from the suburbs to MRT in the city. btw, isnt it Magallanes station?

hehe could be I don't remember the actual station names I just get off and on when it looks right!:nuts:

Ayun nagaawayaway pa mga secretary ni GMA , get your acts together boys para matuloy na to. Fast project lang naman to and not too expensive but ang laking ginhawa.

"where's my loop?" it must be so stressful to work for GMA. The demands!

^^I couldn't imagine why a very important project such as this is delayed just because the officials are squabbling? Just imagine that GMA's image would again suffer just because of those guys. Oh dear, no wonder we're getting less and less of the FDI pie, eh sa taas palang may bottleneck na agad, just imagine the red tape on the lower levels of bureaucracy. Haaay... so depressing :ohno:

I agree. It makes commuting much more efficient from commuter rail from the suburbs to MRT in the city. btw, isnt it Magallanes station?

hehe could be I don't remember the actual station names I just get off and on when it looks right!:nuts:

Ayun nagaawayaway pa mga secretary ni GMA , get your acts together boys para matuloy na to. Fast project lang naman to and not too expensive but ang laking ginhawa.
Yup it's Magallanes station. Unfortunately, passengers still have to walk several meters to get on the MRT. I want to see the plan of @wheel of steel to materialize at least in my lifetime. Oh hindi naman siguro siya wishful thinking, right?

yeah it is depressing to hear the red tape or infighting or whatever you may call it.. but it is highly encouraging to know that the president is very very involved and would really want the project to push thru at the soonest possible time..

MRT-7 not a sure deal, DoTC exec says (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=75707)

By Riza T. Olchondra
Inquirer
Last updated 01:25am (Mla time) 07/10/2007

Having no challengers is no assurance that the original proponent of a new, $1.23-billion overhead Metro Rail Transit project, known as MRT-7, will undertake the biggest infrastructure deal under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, transport officials said over the weekend.

The main proponent is Universal LRT Corp. (ULC), a consortium led by EL International Holdings, a unit of the EL group of Hong Kong, under Eli Levin, who was also the main proponent of Metro Manila's present MRT system, known as MRT-3.

ULC’s proposed project was up for a “Swiss Challenge” under the Build-Operate-Transfer Law last month but challengers Sumitomo Corp., World Chi Finance Group and Izumo Contractors failed to submit a better bid.

The transportation department committee in charge of the project will now submit the results to Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who is tasked to recommend the project’s approval to the Cabinet-level Investment Coordination Committee.

This recommendation will then await the signature of President Arroyo. The $1.23-billion MRT-7 project is due to be finished by 2012.

The MRT-7 is to be 23 kilometers long, with 14 stations. It will traverse Commonwealth Avenue and Quirino Avenue Extension up to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

It will have a 22-kilometer access road, and also a real estate component in conjunction with SM Investments Corp. of retailing giant Henry Sy. With INQUIRER.net

^^ What!? Kalokohan na to.

^^ What!? Kalokohan na to.

It's quite difficult to turn 90 degrees to edsa ya know...specially with the limited space, grabe it would be an engineering spectacle if they did it seamlessly...:)

It's quite difficult to turn 90 degrees to edsa ya know...specially with the limited space, grabe it would be an engineering spectacle if they did it seamlessly...:)

Huh? I'm referring to the article above my post. :)

Anyhow, if i could read your mind correctly, maybe you are talking about the LRT-Monumento Circle and EDSA Link (Caloocan Section). Madali nalang yan, kayang kaya ng mga Hapon or Korean contractors. If ever pinagdugtong ang MRT sa LRT, so magsisimula sa MRT-Taft then last station LRT-Baclaran! :lol:

Pwede rin naman nila siguro gawin tulad sa MRT-Taft and LRT-Edsa Transfer Stations yung sa MRT-LRT Monumento. Loop parin yun pag titignan mo sa map. :colgate:

share naman kayo ng train dito sa amin...:lol:

^^Cebu has a study for a lrt, I'm not sure what happened to it of if it's feasible. In general though travel time for most people is still manageable there to my understanding.

^^Cebu has a study for a lrt, I'm not sure what happened to it of if it's feasible. In general though travel time for most people is still manageable there to my understanding.

yun study pa rin....i don't think its economically feasible at this time...in terms or ridership....yung connectivity ng mrt3 at lrt 1 i think will be a subway type....they will then sort of interlink in tala somewhere in qc...together with the north rail...southrail....hopefully before the end of GMAs term.....let us give it to her....masipag ang cute nating presidenta...

tala....in caloocan city not in qc....sorry...po

there is no rail line currently in Tala, NOrth Caloocan which is at the northernmost part of Metro Manila and is a bit to the east side.. so I doubt of an interlink there...

do we already have a list of the proposed stations for the MRT7?.... they are 13 or 14 stations?

MRT extention bidded out in Q4 (http://businessmirror.com.ph/0713&142007/nation04.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) officials are optimistic the closing of the metropolitan rail loop with LRT Line 1 and MRT with the planned North commuter rail extension it expects to bid out in the fourth quarter this year is now a sure thing.

“The project was entrusted to us by no less than President Arroyo. She is the chairman of the Neda board,” said LRTA administrator Mel Robles yesterday.

He thus concludes the P6.2-billion elevated North extension of three stations connecting the Monumento Station to the North Avenue station will surely be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority board once the agency obtains the go-ahead of its investment coordinating committee.

The project is one of the top priority projects of the Arroyo administration. It is expected to serve about 800,000 to one million passengers. “We have to bid out the project in the last quarter of this year as we intend to start the construction early next year,” said Robles.

He added they are now just waiting for Metrolink JV to finish the feasibility study for the five-kilometer railway project. Funding, he further said, will be up to the government. But definitely using official development assistance (ODA) is out of the question.

“It will take longer if we seek an ODA. A plan to float bonds is still one of the options. We are only the implementing agency. It is up to the Finance department how funding will be sourced,” said Robles.

Robles revealed the elevated line from the LRT Line 1 as planned will not interconnect with the MRT-3. “It will be very close to the North Avenue station of the MRT-3. It will be right beside the station. When the government takes over the MRT-3 then it will be easy for the two lines to be connected.”

The Metro Rail Transit Corp., (MRTC) the consortium that developed MRT-3, lost its exclusive right to bid for the North extension project when the Department of Transportation and Communications decided to have a public bidding.

The consortium had submitted a proposal claiming it owned the right to build the extension based on a supplemental agreement with the DOTC in 1999. But the Department of Justice ruled the supplemental agreement had lapsed.

When sought for comment, MRTC spokesman Paul Daza said the consortium is still interested in undertaking the extension project and it is awaiting further announcements from the DOTC.

Good news kung Kaya gawin. Malakas naman si Robles at El Shadai nasa likod niya:lol: Anyway di pala dikit ang lrt1 anr mrt3 ay naku , politics.:ohno::bash: What bullshit. Anyway better magawa now than never.


MRT extention bidded out in Q4 (http://businessmirror.com.ph/0713&142007/nation04.html)
By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) officials are optimistic the closing of the metropolitan rail loop with LRT Line 1 and MRT with the planned North commuter rail extension it expects to bid out in the fourth quarter this year is now a sure thing.:dance: I hope this is the real thing.

“The project was entrusted to us by no less than President Arroyo. She is the chairman of the Neda board,” said LRTA administrator Mel Robles yesterday.

He thus concludes the P6.2-billion elevated North extension of three stations connecting the Monumento Station to the North Avenue station will surely be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority board once the agency obtains the go-ahead of its investment coordinating committee.

The project is one of the top priority projects of the Arroyo administration. It is expected to serve about 800,000 to one million passengers. “We have to bid out the project in the last quarter of this year as we intend to start the construction early next year,” said Robles.

He added they are now just waiting for Metrolink JV to finish the feasibility study for the five-kilometer railway project. Funding, he further said, will be up to the government. But definitely using official development assistance (ODA) is out of the question.

“It will take longer if we seek an ODA. A plan to float bonds is still one of the options. We are only the implementing agency. It is up to the Finance department how funding will be sourced,” said Robles.

Robles revealed the elevated line from thethe elevated line from the LRT Line 1 as planned will not interconnect with the MRT-3. :baaa: :wtf:“It will be very close to the North Avenue station of the MRT-3. It will be right beside the station. When the government takes over the MRT-3 then it will be easy for the two lines to be connected.”

The Metro Rail Transit Corp., (MRTC) the consortium that developed MRT-3, lost its exclusive right to bid for the North extension project when the Department of Transportation and Communications decided to have a public bidding.

The consortium had submitted a proposal claiming it owned the right to build the extension based on a supplemental agreement with the DOTC in 1999. But the Department of Justice ruled the supplemental agreement had lapsed.

When sought for comment, MRTC spokesman Paul Daza said the consortium is still interested in undertaking the extension project and it is awaiting further announcements from the DOTC.:nuts:

Robles revealed the elevated line from the LRT Line 1 as planned will not interconnect with the MRT-3. “It will be very close to the North Avenue station of the MRT-3. It will be right beside the station. When the government takes over the MRT-3 then it will be easy for the two lines to be connected.”


Whoah!!!! But isnt there a serious plan for the government to take over the MRT3? Possibly by August which is next month? Regardless, it will take a few years to finish the loop so if the government somehow takes over MRT3 by then, can the two lanes be connected for sure???? WOW!!!! Imagine if so!!! Perhaps by 2010, I can finally take that teaching job in La Salle Taft (since my condotel will be finished by then, earning me supplemental income) so all I have to do is get on the train in Shang station, then get off at Vito Cruz station without leaving my seat!!! :happy:

hmm.. i have a feeling that this project will start construction maybe in a year or two.. i cant believe that they wont connect the LRT and MRT lines.. hassle yan sa mga sasakay, palipat lipat ng lines..

^^ I'm actually surprised that you and bustero are surprised by this. Isn't it common knowledge (by us who follow these threads) that because MRT3 is run by the MRTC and LRT1 is run by the LRTA, two completely different entities, that the lines will simply not interconnect? While we all (me especially) wish that LRT1 and MRT3 will connect so there will be a seamless ride from MRT3 Taft station to the future LRT1 Bacoor station, it has only been a dream until the news about the government wanting to buy out MRT3 for financial reasoning. And even back then, there was only wishful thinking for the government to connect the lines since its the only rational thing to do in case they do purchase it since the connection wasn't mentioned by the news back in the day. Now, we have a government official saying that if they indeed buy MRT3, then we have that seamless ride. Man! If only it would happen.... :yes:

it was in the inquirer news yesterday that the mrt7 project is up for approval/disapproval come sept...there were no participants in the swiss challenge conducted earlier...if approved construction will start early next year.....woooohooooo that is a big relief for us....travelling through commonwealth...

Oo nga. Kahit sobrang luwag ng Commonwealth, sobrang traffic naman during rush hour (mga bus at jeep na nakaharang sa gitna ng daan na nagsasakay :mad2: ). Overhead din kaya gagawin sa part ng Fairview? Malalaki na kasi yung mga puno sa island, even some parts of commonwealth. Sayang kasi...

^^ I'm actually surprised that you and bustero are surprised by this.

no i wasnt really surprised.. just disappointed like everyday here.. i was just hoping that a miracle would occur i guess.. haha.. but hey, anything would be better than nothing right?

Oo nga. Kahit sobrang luwag ng Commonwealth, sobrang traffic naman during rush hour (mga bus at jeep na nakaharang sa gitna ng daan na nagsasakay :mad2: ). Overhead din kaya gagawin sa part ng Fairview? Malalaki na kasi yung mga puno sa island, even some parts of commonwealth. Sayang kasi...

oo nga sayang... specially on that section of Fairview Avenue...(that section of Commonwealth encompassing the Fairview subdivision)... also hilly din yung area...

may be...that this the reason commonwealth is being widened....if you see commonwealth now there are lots of construction activities...now that is what we call progress....umuusad na tayo...let us not allow the whiners to stop our progress.....now i believe that government have money to spare for infrastructure....it is only now that we have big infra projects like this...from world class airports, rail projects and roads......

Government seen to buy MRT-3 from MRTC (http://businessmirror.com.ph/07182007/headlines02.html)
By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter

THE national government is seriously considering buying the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) from the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) to complete the train loop in Metro Manila.

According to an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), who requested anonymity, the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee is inclined to push for the state’s acquiring the railway—a move seen to cut project costs.

“The government and the MRTC may have already agreed but they are still discussing the payment discount,” the official told BusinessMirror.

The source explained that if the MRT-3 extension is done by another company, it would be costly for the operator and inconvenient for the riding public.

The total project cost of extending the MRT-3 ranges from $300 billion to $400 billion, a sum that already includes the provision of new trains, tracks, station construction and a depot—but not the expected costs to be incurred when the railway is rerouted to avoid Monumento.

If the government acquires the entire MRT-3 line, the Neda official said, less costs would be accrued since no additional trains will be bought and the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) depot will be used as the same depot for the additional stations.

This way, the total project cost would only be from $120 billion to $130 billion, which will be used for the construction of the additional stations and tracks.

Furthermore, if the MRT-3 extension is done by another company, there is a possibility that riders will be forced to switch trains from the extension of the MRT-3 to the existing MRT-3 due to the difference in operators.

With the plan of the government, trains from the existing MRT-3 line and the MRT-3 extension can easily reach the northernmost point of the line in Monumento. Riders can also easily and safely transfer to LRT-1 through a footbridge.

The government is currently leasing the MRT-3 from the MRTC and is scheduled to pay the Sobrepeña-owned company a monthly lease for another 20 years. In recent months, some officials have said the government was behind in payment of the lease by as much as $4 billion to $5 billion.

The existing MRT-3 line runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. The extension of the railway will extend to Monumento in northern Metro Manila.

Government seen to buy MRT-3 from MRTC (http://businessmirror.com.ph/07182007/headlines02.html)
By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter

THE national government is seriously considering buying the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) from the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) to complete the train loop in Metro Manila.

According to an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), who requested anonymity, the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee is inclined to push for the state’s acquiring the railway—a move seen to cut project costs.

“The government and the MRTC may have already agreed but they are still discussing the payment discount,” the official told BusinessMirror.

The source explained that if the MRT-3 extension is done by another company, it would be costly for the operator and inconvenient for the riding public.

The total project cost of extending the MRT-3 ranges from $300 billion to $400 billion, a sum that already includes the provision of new trains, tracks, station construction and a depot—but not the expected costs to be incurred when the railway is rerouted to avoid Monumento.

If the government acquires the entire MRT-3 line, the Neda official said, less costs would be accrued since no additional trains will be bought and the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) depot will be used as the same depot for the additional stations.

This way, the total project cost would only be from $120 billion to $130 billion, which will be used for the construction of the additional stations and tracks.

Furthermore, if the MRT-3 extension is done by another company, there is a possibility that riders will be forced to switch trains from the extension of the MRT-3 to the existing MRT-3 due to the difference in operators.

With the plan of the government, trains from the existing MRT-3 line and the MRT-3 extension can easily reach the northernmost point of the line in Monumento. Riders can also easily and safely transfer to LRT-1 through a footbridge.

The government is currently leasing the MRT-3 from the MRTC and is scheduled to pay the Sobrepeña-owned company a monthly lease for another 20 years. In recent months, some officials have said the government was behind in payment of the lease by as much as $4 billion to $5 billion.

The existing MRT-3 line runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. The extension of the railway will extend to Monumento in northern Metro Manila.

Typo lang ba iyong $xxx Billion?

may be...that this the reason commonwealth is being widened....if you see commonwealth now there are lots of construction activities...now that is what we call progress....umuusad na tayo...let us not allow the whiners to stop our progress.....now i believe that government have money to spare for infrastructure....it is only now that we have big infra projects like this...from world class airports, rail projects and roads......

yes Commonwealth Ave is being widened upto 8 or 10 lanes on each side... but when it reaches the Fairview area... Commonwealth will remain to 3 or 4 lanes.... that is because that portion used to be Fairview Ave designed to have 3 lanes...

if they do expand it...they'll have to demolish permanent structures from the Fairview Market area upto Tullahan bridge.... this is unlike the portion of Commonwealth from Fairview Market to Philcoa which is originally planned to be as wide as 10 lanes, so permanent structures are built in consideration of this wideness....

@ flip2_0, I'm sure its a typo. We are building a rail line, not an interplanetary spaceship...

Anyways, that Business Mirror article is VERY confusing. The way I understand it, it looks like the government plans to buy MRT3 and extend it to Monumento. Why do they say that they can use the LRT1 depot for the additional stations? This would imply that the two lines would be physically linked, hence seamless all the way since MRT3 trains will somehow be able to use the LRT1 depot near the airport. It would be the ultimate solution and really convenient to the public, the one seat ride a lot of us are dreaming off. But despite that, the article also mentions the transfer via footbrige in Monumento even if the government succeeds to buy out and extends MRT3 to Monumento??? WTF???

While the planned scenario of extending LRT1 from Monumento to SM North is quite acceptable, extending the existing MRT3 to Monumento is way better, whether the two lines will be physically linked or not. I don't mind the trains not connected physically as long as one of them is extended and I do prefer MRT3 to be extended since it is too short the way it is right now, given its significance with such an important route. A seamless EDSA train line should be pursued at whatever means necessary.

let us watch the SONA on monday...infrastructures will definitely be mentioned as per the pronouncement of serge remonde...

bkt kaya sa pinas puro na lang widening ng widening of the road ang solution...dapat unahin muna nila yun maliit na bagay katulad ng proper transpo:) (bus/rail system) kasi pag meron good traspo system mababawasan ang mga car comuters tpos ma sasayang lang yung roads na winiden...

well, that's the cheapest way to hasten the traffic..

bkt kaya sa pinas puro na lang widening ng widening of the road ang solution...dapat unahin muna nila yun maliit na bagay katulad ng proper transpo:) (bus/rail system) kasi pag meron good traspo system mababawasan ang mga car comuters tpos ma sasayang lang yung roads na winiden...

well, that's the cheapest way to hasten the traffic..

well....that is no longer true today....if you have noticed not only is the governments...integrating its infrastructure today...it has also done long term planning....that is why if you will look at the mastaplan...you will be amazed....at these developments....

the mrt3 lrt1 loop
the northrail project
the northrail southrail interconnection project
the southrail project
the mrt7
the lrt1 extension to cavite
the lrt1 rail link to naia...
the c6
the upgrading of c5
the upgrading of edsa
the upgrading of commonwealth...and a few other major roads there are 7 of them....

the airports
the sea ports.....and a whole lot more...

well....that is no longer true today....if you have noticed not only is the governments...integrating its infrastructure today...it has also done long term planning....that is why if you will look at the mastaplan...you will be amazed....at these developments....

the mrt3 lrt1 loop
the northrail project
the northrail southrail interconnection project
the southrail project
the mrt7
the lrt1 extension to cavite
the lrt1 rail link to naia...
the c6
the upgrading of c5
the upgrading of edsa
the upgrading of commonwealth...and a few other major roads there are 7 of them....

the airports
the sea ports.....and a whole lot more...
yeah i think thats really a great plan....But we still need a good mass traspo system that will take you from your house to the MRT/LRT stations ryt??? (Proper bus system along with rail system) will be a great plan to reduce vehicular traffic.. para hindi tyo widen ng widen ng road diba;)

It's just me or tumaas lang pasahe sa LRT.. Kasi nung monday sumakay ako ng LRT sa Pasay Rotonda station tapos ang baba ko sa Buendia.. Siningil ako ng 15 pesos. eh lam ko 12 pesos lang.. Nung tinanong ko yung nasa counter di man lang nagsalita.. :ohno: :bash:

^15 naman talaga ah?

^^ If you travel between 3 or 4 stations yata, P12 lang. Tulad ng Monumento to Blumentritt parang ganun yata ang singil.

^nope. nung pumunta ako sa lrt 1 lahat ng stations 15 pesos. kaya nga nagtataka ako dun eh. ano bang lrt yung sinasabi niya? yung megatren ba o yung lrt 1?

^^ yung lrt 2, ganun pa rin rates., 12-15 pesos.

i think mas ok ata pag lahat ng future lines na gagawin eh underground. kasi pag elevated sira ang view ng surroundings. pero i understand na mahal pag subway type ang gagawin. pero it's a good investment. ang northeast line dito sa singapore maganda sya hindi maingay. tsaka yung future yellow line slated for opening 2010 all underground din.

XP: LRT1.. Ang alam ko talaga 12.. Gusto ko na nga sana awayin yung nasa counter eh(that reminds me of an another encounter pero sa MRT North EDSA station.. Gusto ko na sana puntahan sa loob ng counter at sapakin yung taong yun.:bash: )

^^ yung lrt 2, ganun pa rin rates., 12-15 pesos.

i think mas ok ata pag lahat ng future lines na gagawin eh underground. kasi pag elevated sira ang view ng surroundings. pero i understand na mahal pag subway type ang gagawin. pero it's a good investment. ang northeast line dito sa singapore maganda sya hindi maingay. tsaka yung future yellow line slated for opening 2010 all underground din.

yung rates..ay 12 pa rin....but you have to specify at the counter that short route ka lang else, bibigyan ka ng 15 ...ganon nangyari sa akin...bumalik ako and i asked y....eh 2 stations away lang ako...yun pala...pala pag nde ka nag specify they will charge you 15...so...you guys out there...be clear and be specific...sayang 3 pesos...heehe...as to the underground systems...darating tayo diyan...there are already projects in the pipeline...kailangan lang na gumanda economy to put all these things into place... that is why government is prioritizing...what it can do at the moment..

I went to Trinoma yesterday and man! What a hassle it is to take it from there. Stupid line up at that ridiculously hot station and that useless booth at the Trinoma side. Once LRT1 and 7 arrives in the area, boarding the MRT3 end station would be an even worse bitch! All the more reason why the MRT3 extension to Monumento is better than the LRT1 extension to SM North (although I still maintain my support that LRT1 extension is better than that dreadful ENT!). With the risk of sounding spoiled, honestly, the government agencies should really think about the quality of the commute as well, hence physically connecting LRT1 and MRT3 would really help alot.

^^ North Avenue station is the worse and the dirtiest MRT station, parang squatter!! Even the design of the station is weird na napakadilim, napakainit, sikisikan sobrang gulo!!! May mga makeshift booths pa sila sa overpass, mukang pulubing namamalimos tuloy yung mga cashier, mano-mano lahat, ang panget talaga...

I went to Trinoma yesterday and man! What a hassle it is to take it from there. Stupid line up at that ridiculously hot station and that useless booth at the Trinoma side. Once LRT1 and 7 arrives in the area, boarding the MRT3 end station would be an even worse bitch! All the more reason why the MRT3 extension to Monumento is better than the LRT1 extension to SM North (although I still maintain my support that LRT1 extension is better than that dreadful ENT!). With the risk of sounding spoiled, honestly, the government agencies should really think about the quality of the commute as well, hence physically connecting LRT1 and MRT3 would really help alot.

oo nga, kasi if you're from trinoma, kailangan mo pang dumaan sa daanan papuntang kabilang platform., ni walang signage., kaya nung 1st time ko dun mejo na lost ako., di tulad sa LRT 2, mabibingi ka sa dami ng signages., :lol: :)

^^ Hello!!!

Mag HEAVY RAIL na lang tayo...madali, efficient at mura pa ang infrastructure...

haha. sosyal. ok yan ah.lol

^^ North Avenue station is the worse and the dirtiest MRT station, parang squatter!! Even the design of the station is weird na napakadilim, napakainit, sikisikan sobrang gulo!!! May mga makeshift booths pa sila sa overpass, mukang pulubing namamalimos tuloy yung mga cashier, mano-mano lahat, ang panget talaga...

Well, ang problema lang kasi dyan is the long queue to get tickets. Marami nang available na P100-denomated multi-use tickets but most of the commuters cannot afford such card, kaya araw-araw pumipila sila and making a makeshift booth underneath the station is the only way MRTC can free up space sa taas to accommodate these people, which is almost the same as the long queue Kamuning station is experiencing at times up to the overpass, third floor

Huwag natin sisihin ang MRTC dahil masa ang karamihan sa pasahero nila at nangyayari ang siksikan dahil hindi dinesign ang stations pala pagpilahan ng tao for more than 15 minutes. That's why I think it's about time na taasan nila ang singil sa MRT for maintenance, payments of loans and get rid of the long queues.

come on guys...its just a matter of organization....obviously the people running these station have no idea of what they are doing... they probably have not even travelled abroad and see the kind of stations they have out there...kulang lang sa culture ang mga ito....yung mga officers ng mga ito..siguro nakapag travel nga pero...ganon din...dahil may pera nga pero kulang pa sa finesse.....what we could do is write these agencies...and report their lousy service.... i tried to do that but the dotc site is so mabagal...and most of the time down...actually i have already taken picture of their ugly and dirty stations.... i'll post it next time...

^^ Pagpasenyahan nyo na lang guys ang MRT Trains. TRAM like trains lang ang kanilang gamit mainly because of the countour of EDSA na masyadong masisikip ang curvatures at alon-alon. Eventually they come up to TRAMS system that can easily maneuver to stiff curves unlike LRTs which use Mass Transit wide cars (3m) in which the usual length is 20m...

come on guys...its just a matter of organization....obviously the people running these station have no idea of what they are doing... they probably have not even travelled abroad and see the kind of stations they have out there...kulang lang sa culture ang mga ito....yung mga officers ng mga ito..siguro nakapag travel nga pero...ganon din...dahil may pera nga pero kulang pa sa finesse.....what we could do is write these agencies...and report their lousy service.... i tried to do that but the dotc site is so mabagal...and most of the time down...actually i have already taken picture of their ugly and dirty stations.... i'll post it next time...

kakalungkot naman. hindi ba well-planned yung station? sige, pakipost so i could see the scenario

yung rates..ay 12 pa rin....but you have to specify at the counter that short route ka lang else, bibigyan ka ng 15 ...ganon nangyari sa akin...bumalik ako and i asked y....eh 2 stations away lang ako...yun pala...pala pag nde ka nag specify they will charge you 15...so...you guys out there...be clear and be specific...sayang 3 pesos...heehe...as to the underground systems...darating tayo diyan...there are already projects in the pipeline...kailangan lang na gumanda economy to put all these things into place... that is why government is prioritizing...what it can do at the moment..

Ako dati I intentionally bought P12 tickets when I actually need P15. Mahaba kasi pila sa Northbound Vito Cruz Station, abot na sa gate ng CSB sa ground level. I had this bright idea of buying the tickets on the Southbound side instead (no more queueing :D ), although I'm forced to get the P12 ticket because the station is close to the last station. I just added P3 to the ticket when I got to D.Jose station (no lines there either :colgate:). I was totally able to bypass the super long queue in Vito Cruz Northbound, ang saya. :hilarious: And I don't even have a stored value ticket.

Thomasian: aba.. Mautak! :D

Kalbongdad: Well, I said to him politely and clearly na Buendia station lang ako at ung 12 pesos lang(Well Just making sure kasi at that time sarado yung ibang mga booths na walang 15 pesos na sign). He just gave me the 15 pesos ticket. Noong tinanong ko bakit ganun wala siyang sinagot tsaka tinitigan lang ako. Kung hindi lang ako nagmamadali magrereklamo ako (Kung wala lang harang yung booth eh di sana nasapak ko na hehehe)..

I had another incident with these people last year. Sa North EDSA station naman.. Well, lam niyo naman dun. Mahaba pila, mainit at kung ano ano pa. At that time masakit pa ulo ko. Noong turn ko na dun sa counter, sinabi ko na dalawa Boni Station tickets ang bibilhin. Politely and Clearly. Tapos binigay sa akin 2 Ayala station tickets. so I gave him back the tickets and said na "sa Boni po, hindi ayala.". Siya pa itong nagalit at sinabihan ako na dapat sinabi ko daw agad tsaka nakakaabala daw ako sa pila. Dun na uminit ang ulo ko tsaka sinagawan ko siya ng "P.I.! Malinaw yung pagkakasabi ko ng Boni Station. Kaw itong me kasalanan kaw pa me gana magalit?! Baka gusto mo mawalan ng trabaho!".. Jeez! What's with these people anyway?.. Dapat turuan ang mga ito ng paggalang sa customers..:ohno: :bash:

polite ka pa nyan ha....hahahah...

kakalungkot naman. hindi ba well-planned yung station? sige, pakipost so i could see the scenario

I think the station itself is fine as originally planned. What is unplanned is that the North Avenue Station isn't meant to be the end of the line station. Just look at the Taft Station. It definitely performs its function as a tail end station quite well. North Ave station is always meant to be a continuing station, hence its layout. This is why extending MRT3 to Monumento, even if it means not physically linking it with LRT1, is the best option. However again, extending LRT1 to SM North, whether they physically link or not, is still an acceptable option as long as we don't have that extremely dreadful, God awful stand alone ENT! ;)

What's the latest on this fiasco? Na-solusyonan na ba ito?

Bad news for 800,000 commuters: MRT 3 in dire financial straits
LALA RIMANDO, Newsbreak
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/43692/Bad-news-for-800000-commuters-MRT-3-in-dire-financial-straits

The government is scrambling to find a timely solution to avert a potential financial crisis involving the rail system.

For the sake of the 800,000 commuters of the existing rail system along Edsa, the government has to settle a financial problem it caused and is just waiting to explode. The deadline? August.

Herein lies the trouble: The government has not been paying the lease rentals on time. Roberto Lastimoso, the general manager of Metro Rail Transit Authority, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) subsidiary operating MRT 3, admitted in a radio interview that the government agency is eight months behind the lease rental payments.

Based on our computation, using the guidelines in the project agreement between the Metro Rail Transit Corporation or MRTC and DOTC, the aggregate amount of the delayed payments is in the vicinity of US$30 million or P1.4 billion.

Lastimoso added that even their maintenance payment obligations to Sumitomo Corporation’s Japanese subcontractor, Tespi Corporation, is four months behind. That would amount to something like $7 million or P335 million.

Lastimoso attributes this to the fact that they could not raise the train fare to a break-even level because of potential adverse reactions from the very price-sensitive riding public.

Bad Deal?

The current financial obligations of the government related to the 17-kilometer MRT 3, the rail system along Edsa, can either be seen as a ghost of a bad deal or an opportunity to right a mistake. Just like other major infrastructure projects that highlight the many ways a public-private partnership can go wrong, MRT 3 has its own story to tell.

MRT 3 is under a build-lease-transfer (BLT) scheme between a Filipino consortium and the DOTC, on behalf of the government.

The consortium, called the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC), included the following members: Ayala Land, Inc. of Makati’s famed Ayala family; Anglo-Philippine Holdings Corporation associated with the National Bookstore chain; Fil-Estate Management, a subsidiary of the Sobrepena family’s property and pre-need empire (now crumbling); Ramcar, Inc, battery manufacturer and exporter, of the Agustines family, and; Greenfield Development Corporation, the investment arm of pharmaceutical industry leader, United Laboratories.

The Filipino investors infused US$190 million (about P9.3 billion) in equity and raised loans worth $462 million (about P22 billion) from a group of international and local banks. The loans had the sovereign guarantee of the Philippine government.

Under this BLT scheme, MRTC built MRT 3 as the borrower and project executor while still in-charge of maintaining the system. Since MRT 3 started operating in 2000, government’s lease and its role as the operator of the rail line also commenced. When the lease expires after 25 years, the government will have full control of the project. This scheme is supposed to free the government from the intricate procedures associated with project financing.

As the lessee, the government was also supposed to pay lease rentals. But what was harshly criticized about the project were the lease payments payable during the 25-year period. The rental schedule assured MRTC of an after-tax, after-debt-service, after-expense return on their investments of 15 percent per year.

Sovereign Guarantee

Critics said this put all the business risks and the pressure to increase the usage of MRT 3 on the government since the consortium’s profits were already guaranteed.

By 2002, some members of the MRTC, such as the Sobrepenas and the Agustines of the Ramcar Group, were having financial difficulties in their other businesses, while the Ayalas eventually decided to bow out of the consortium. Thus, some of the consortium members decided to cash in, rather than wait for the government to complete all its future lease rental payments. They tapped the capital markets and packaged these future payments into a financial product called zero-coupon bonds.

In effect, the original investors who cashed in, such as the Sobrepenas and the Agustineses, passed on the “waiting time" to those who snapped the bonds. To the bondholders, the MRTC bonds are attractive because they get a hefty 15 percent profit on their money. What’s more, the receivables that back these bonds are coming from the Philippine government and have attached sovereign guarantees to them. In other words, they are supposed to be considered a “safe" investment.

What this financial exercise did was change the hierarchy of who owes whom. It used to be that the monthly lease rentals of the government were paid to the MRTC consortium. Now those in the consortium who have cashed in are out of the picture, and instead, the government’s lease rentals are paid to the bondholders as part of their regular bond coupon payments, or the equivalent of the interest earnings of, say, a time deposit in a bank.

Fare Subsidy

Recall that before MRT 3 started operations in 2000, the calculated fare that was approved was about P30 per passenger. The Estrada administration, however, decided to charge only somewhere between P9 and P15 because that’s what they thought the passengers would be able to afford.

When President Arroyo took over, her officials decided to continue subsidizing the fares. The subsidy comes from the national government budget, and needs to go through the usual time-consuming government appropriation and disbursement routes. Unlike the debt rental payments, which are covered by automatic appropriations in the national budget, the lease rentals are not.

That explains the late payments, but not why the allocated budgets are still inadequate to cover the lease rental dues even when the budget is disbursed on time. According to Philratings, the local rating agency monitoring debt instruments like the MRTC bonds, subsidy received from the national budget in 2006 was only P1.2 billion, or half the requested subsidy of P2.1 billion for that year. They expect the subsidies for 2007 will also not be enough.

In its February 2007 report, Philratings said, “The government agency is not likely to achieve a significant reduction in past due rentals without increasing national government budget subsidies to MRT operations, as fare box revenues of the MRT 3 system are not sufficient to fully pay monthly [lease rental payments]."

The budgeted subsidy itself needs to be adjusted because when the project was finalized in 1997, the going rate of the peso to the dollar was P27. Currently, even if the peso rates are stronger in the P48-level coming from previous highs of P54, the discrepancy is still too wide. All the obligations—the lease rentals, maintenance, and the debt rental—are denominated in US dollars, but the revenues from the fare box are in pesos.

With all these factors, DOTC will naturally fall behind its obligations.

Can DOF meet the deadline?

The big difference since 2002, however, is that one of the obligations, the lease rentals, is now the an obligation due to bondholders, some of whom are handled by fund managers who don’t want to upset their clients because they invested in something that could not pay on time.

So far, even if the government has been perennially late in dispensing the required monthly lease rental payments to the trustee bank, in this case, the Bank of New York, which pools all these monthly payments in time for the semi-annual coupon payments, the funds in the pool have been enough to meet the scheduled coupon payments.

However, the perennially late monthly payments underscore the possibility that there will not be adequate accumulated amounts by August 7, 2007, when the first tranche of bonds will mature. By that time there should be about US$69.2 million or P3.4 billion in the bag already, which may not be likely.

It is because of this upcoming date in August that the officials of the Department of Finance—not the DOTC—are rushing to find a way to refinance or re-package their obligations.

Meeting the August deadline is now out of the hands of the DOTC because when the bondholders decide to call the government in default of its obligations to them, it is automatic that the other foreign denominated obligations of the government will also be set in default. This will wipe out whatever goodwill or excellent payment records the Philippines has with the international capital markets.

Hostile Bondholder

But besides the capital markets, the finance department might have to face the possibility of dealing with a hostile bondholder. A Newsbreak source familiar with the details of the bond obligations said that most of the bonds are now in the hands of Elliot Associates, a financial outfit known as a “vulture fund," or one that is expert in buying distressed and cheap debt assets mostly from emerging markets. They scour all possible means, including bankruptcy laws and international litigation, to push for their target to settle with them.

Elliot is famous for having compelled the government of Peru to settle a sovereign-bond related issue after Elliot won court cases all over Europe, US and Canada.

Meantime, the option to buy out the bondholders, which was floated as early as 2005, was supposed to lessen the pressure on the government as far as meeting the rentals is concerned. If the bondholders are out of the way, then the government will not have to be concerned with the threat of a default call or go through a negotiation process with a hostile vulture fund.

Recently, too, the Philippine’s good reputation in the international capital markets has been highlighted in media to push the option of borrowing to fund the buy-out. Why not take advantage of the cheap interest rates, observers say. After all, the government can borrow funds from the capital markets way below the 15 percent cost of the bonds.

Buy Out Bondholders?

But these are not without flaws. The option of buying out the bondholders just relieves the government of the fact that the MRT 3 is not profitable and will still keep on bleeding the national government’s coffers with annual subsidies.

Newsbreak asked Finance Secretary Margarito Teves about the MRTC bonds but he prefers not to give out details. “We will are still talking to the justice department so we will know what should be our parameters if we restructure the contract or seek appropriation from Congress [to finance the buy-out.]"

Restructuring the contract may mean the bondholders will have to take a cut, or the government will have to find a new partner that will consent to lower profits.

How the finance department will balance everybody’s interest is worth watching.

any news about mrt7 the last report is that it's up for approval by the neda board...

Kalbongdad: Polite pa naman.. hehehe.. :D

where's my loop sabi ni pgma.....palpak talaga ibang mga tauhan sa kabinete....tagal ng inutos ito nde pa magawa....

Bids committee likely
to endorse MRT-7 proponent (http://businessmirror.com.ph/07302007/economy05.html)

By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


THE Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for railway transportation projects is likely to endorse this week to the Cabinet-level Investment Coordination Committee the award of the contract to build-operate-transfer (BOT) the Metro Rail Transit project, known as MRT-7, to the Universal LRT Corp. (ULC).

ULC, a consortium led by EL International Holdings, a member of the EL Group of Companies of Hong Kong, is the original proponent of the MRT-7 project that is estimated to cost $1.23 billion. This is touted as the biggest infrastructure project yet of the Arroyo administration.

“Our recommendation will either be to award the contract or not. One probable reason if we don’t award it to ULC would be the proponent’s failure to comply with the terms of reference,” transportation assistant secretary Elmer Soneja, who is also the committee chairman and the head of project implementation, said in an interview.

The proponent, according to its consultant and former DOTC official, Mario Miranda, has fully complied with all of the requirements. “Financially or technically, we are compliant. I think we are the only interested company that can make this project happen. If we are not compliant then our proposal would have been already rejected,” he said.

Other challengers, Sumitomo Corp., World Chi Finance Group and Izumo Contractors, failed to submit a letter bid last month.

Soneja said that under the BOT law, the BAC could not set for another bid after the first failed attempt. “Not unless the original proponent backs out. So, it is either that or the ULC says it is not interested anymore or we find their requirements lacking then we are poised not to award the contract to them.”

The BAC project will soon submit the results of the failed bid to Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who is tasked to recommend the project’s approval to the Neda-ICC.

“The technical working group is still evaluating the bid of the proponent. Hopefully, it will be finished by the end of the month. After which, the BAC will come up with its recommendation to be signed by the DOTC secretary and endorse it afterwards to the Neda-ICC,” said Soneja.

This recommendation will then await the signature of President Arroyo.

ULC submitted an unsolicited proposal to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the MRT Line7 project under a build, gradual transfer, operate and maintain scheme, a variant of the build-transfer-operate contractual arrangement.

The project consists of a 23-kilometer rail transit system with 14 stations that will be connected to the MRT-3 North Avenue station in Quezon City, stretching all the way to Commonwealth Avenue, Regalado Avenue, Quirino Avenue extension up to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and a 22-km access road component.

Universal LRT chief executive officer and managing director Eli Levin has said that given the magnitude of the investment and the stringent requirements of the government, he doubts that their proposal will be matched.

The proponent said it will finance the project financing from a combination of debt and equity. “There will be a $309-million equity investment and $926-million debt,” he said.

Of the $926 million, Levin said $126 million will be in a form of untied loans to finance the civil works portion of the project. A number of foreign banks have already expressed interest to facilitate the loan. The remaining $800 million will be sourced from Export Credit Agencies.

Meanwhile, the $309-million equity will be equally shouldered by the contractors, multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, and real-estate developer.

Bids committee likely
to endorse MRT-7 proponent (http://businessmirror.com.ph/07302007/economy05.html)

By Lenie Lectura
Reporter


THE Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for railway transportation projects is likely to endorse this week to the Cabinet-level Investment Coordination Committee the award of the contract to build-operate-transfer (BOT) the Metro Rail Transit project, known as MRT-7, to the Universal LRT Corp. (ULC).

ULC, a consortium led by EL International Holdings, a member of the EL Group of Companies of Hong Kong, is the original proponent of the MRT-7 project that is estimated to cost $1.23 billion. This is touted as the biggest infrastructure project yet of the Arroyo administration.

“Our recommendation will either be to award the contract or not. One probable reason if we don’t award it to ULC would be the proponent’s failure to comply with the terms of reference,” transportation assistant secretary Elmer Soneja, who is also the committee chairman and the head of project implementation, said in an interview.

The proponent, according to its consultant and former DOTC official, Mario Miranda, has fully complied with all of the requirements. “Financially or technically, we are compliant. I think we are the only interested company that can make this project happen. If we are not compliant then our proposal would have been already rejected,” he said.

Other challengers, Sumitomo Corp., World Chi Finance Group and Izumo Contractors, failed to submit a letter bid last month.

Soneja said that under the BOT law, the BAC could not set for another bid after the first failed attempt. “Not unless the original proponent backs out. So, it is either that or the ULC says it is not interested anymore or we find their requirements lacking then we are poised not to award the contract to them.”

The BAC project will soon submit the results of the failed bid to Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who is tasked to recommend the project’s approval to the Neda-ICC.

“The technical working group is still evaluating the bid of the proponent. Hopefully, it will be finished by the end of the month. After which, the BAC will come up with its recommendation to be signed by the DOTC secretary and endorse it afterwards to the Neda-ICC,” said Soneja.

This recommendation will then await the signature of President Arroyo.

ULC submitted an unsolicited proposal to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the MRT Line7 project under a build, gradual transfer, operate and maintain scheme, a variant of the build-transfer-operate contractual arrangement.

The project consists of a 23-kilometer rail transit system with 14 stations that will be connected to the MRT-3 North Avenue station in Quezon City, stretching all the way to Commonwealth Avenue, Regalado Avenue, Quirino Avenue extension up to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and a 22-km access road component.

Universal LRT chief executive officer and managing director Eli Levin has said that given the magnitude of the investment and the stringent requirements of the government, he doubts that their proposal will be matched.

The proponent said it will finance the project financing from a combination of debt and equity. “There will be a $309-million equity investment and $926-million debt,” he said.

Of the $926 million, Levin said $126 million will be in a form of untied loans to finance the civil works portion of the project. A number of foreign banks have already expressed interest to facilitate the loan. The remaining $800 million will be sourced from Export Credit Agencies.

Meanwhile, the $309-million equity will be equally shouldered by the contractors, multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, and real-estate developer.

hopefully we will know by september if it is go or no go.....hopefully it is a go...

Let's see...

Any updates on the MRT 3 woes?


Bad news for 800,000 commuters:
MRT 3 in dire financial straits
www.gmanews.tv
05/24/2007
Before MRT 3 started operations in 2000, the calculated fare that was approved was about P30 per passenger. The Estrada administration, however, decided to charge only somewhere between P9 and P15 because that’s what they thought the passengers would be able to afford.

When President Arroyo took over, her officials decided to continue subsidizing the fares. The subsidy comes from the national government budget, and needs to go through the usual time-consuming government appropriation and disbursement routes. Unlike the debt rental payments, which are covered by automatic appropriations in the national budget, the lease rentals are not.

That explains the late payments, but not why the allocated budgets are still inadequate to cover the lease rental dues even when the budget is disbursed on time. According to Philratings, the local rating agency monitoring debt instruments like the MRTC bonds, subsidy received from the national budget in 2006 was only P1.2 billion, or half the requested subsidy of P2.1 billion for that year. They expect the subsidies for 2007 will also not be enough.

In its February 2007 report, Philratings said, “The government agency is not likely to achieve a significant reduction in past due rentals without increasing national government budget subsidies to MRT operations, as fare box revenues of the MRT 3 system are not sufficient to fully pay monthly [lease rental payments]."

The budgeted subsidy itself needs to be adjusted because when the project was finalized in 1997, the going rate of the peso to the dollar was P27. Currently, even if the peso rates are stronger in the P48-level coming from previous highs of P54, the discrepancy is still too wide. All the obligations—the lease rentals, maintenance, and the debt rental—are denominated in US dollars, but the revenues from the fare box are in pesos.

With all these factors, DOTC will naturally fall behind its obligations.

mrt 3 is fast deteriorating ... lrt1 is better off....and its the oldest of the 3 elevated rails...

^^ I disagree though. MRT3 is just fine. It just so happens its located on EDSA, which is a HUGE roadway, hence the need for huge stations. Also, since its a heavily traveled highway with tons of buses, the pollution is inevitable. Overall, the rolling stock and capacity is fine...on paper that is. It would be perfect if its extended to Monumento. Riding it as an individual, that is a different story but I suppose that is part of living in a tropical polluted third world country where people multiply like rabbits, hence why its ultra crowded...

^^ I disagree though. MRT3 is just fine. It just so happens its located on EDSA, which is a HUGE roadway, hence the need for huge stations. Also, since its a heavily traveled highway with tons of buses, the pollution is inevitable. Overall, the rolling stock and capacity is fine...on paper that is. It would be perfect if its extended to Monumento. Riding it as an individual, that is a different story but I suppose that is part of living in a tropical polluted third world country where people multiply like rabbits, hence why its ultra crowded...


look at the mrt stations....its dark and filthy.....lrt1 now is being spruced up...btw...is the connection..between lrt2 and lrt1 in the recto and doroteo jose station completed?...anybody... the last time i took the lrt2 and lrt1...about 3or4 mos ago...you still have to go down ground level to cross over

it's already connected via the long bridge overlooking the squatters area.

Govt mulls 3 options for financial rescue of MRT3
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/46121/Govt-mulls-3-options-for-financial-rescue-of-MRT3

The Philippines' Finance department is looking at three options to fast-track the proposed takeover of the Metro Rail Transit Corp. – the operator of MRT-3 along EDSA – to take advantage of lower interest rates and to ease the pressure on the national coffers.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves told reporters that the government is considering borrowing the amount through the issuance of bonds or asking Congress to appropriate the amount for the buyout.

“That is one of the options to pay off the investors. We don’t know how much because it will depend on what the market opportunities are," he stressed.

About 800,000 commuters ride the MRT-3 line on the way to and from work every day.

The Finance chief said the government is also looking at the possibility of asking the 14th Congress to appropriate the amount for the buyout but it would have to be included in the proposed 2008 national budget.

“Another option is to get it from appropriations from our collected revenues," he added.

According to him, the third option is a combination of borrowings and appropriations.

Teves said the buyout plan that would be evaluated by the Development Budget Coordination Committee has to be finished as soon as possible before the government falls in default by August.

The Finance department has forwarded to the DBCC a buy out proposal that would cost the government as much as $720 million.

The buyout plan would help the government save on fare subsidies and interest payments to MRTC. The government shells out at least P6.8 billion every year to subsidize the operations of MRT-3 stretching from Taft Ave. in Pasay City to North Ave. in Quezon City .

Instead of each passenger paying P60 for the entire stretch, the government subsidizes P45 of the total fare as each passenger only pays P15. MRT-3 serves between 420,000 passengers to 430,000 passengers a day.

The Department of Transportation and Communications said the government likewise spends another P250 million in maintenance fees per month.

The government has guaranteed a 15 percent rate of return to the proponents of MRT-3 led by the Fil-Estate Group of businessman Robert John Sobrepena.

To ensure the guaranteed rate of return, the government is compelled to subsidize the fare of passengers and shoulder the maintenance cost of the rail system that was build under a 25-year build-lease-transfer scheme.

The DOF was tasked by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Memorandum Order 181 in August of 2005 to head an inter-agency committee to draft a takeover strategy.

The committee is composed of representatives from the Transport and Finance departments, the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Build-Operate-Transfer Center, and Presidential Legal Counsel.

^Thanks for the info!

LRT1 Old and New...

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/sP5200002.jpg

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/isikawalrt2.jpg

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/sP4060089.jpg

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/slrt1000.jpg

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/7Lrtnew.jpg

http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/7LRTNEW%20INSIDE.jpg

Fiscal woes taking a toll on infra program?
Funding issues derail bidding for rail transit
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/aug/07/yehey/business/20070807bus1.html

THE government’s recent fiscal difficulties may be taking their toll on major infrastructure projects lined up, as the bidding for the construction of the planned Manila Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 south extension project was put on hold pending the assurance of annual state support.

In a telephone interview, Danilo S. Tolentino, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) project manager said the competitive bidding of the project is on hold because the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has yet to issue the multiyear obligation authority for the government’s $260-million loan from the World Bank.

He explained that the multiyear obligation authority is an assurance that the funding is included in the yearly General Appropriation Act.

The $260-million proposed loan, which the Department of Finance already endorsed to the World Bank, will in part fund the civil works.

“We expect that by October this year the approval of funding from World Bank,” Tolentino told The Manila Times.

“We cannot issue a formal invitation for the bidding of LRT 1 south extension without a certification of funding,” he said.

Costing about $683 million, the Manila LRT 1 south extension, a priority project of the Arroyo administration, will run southward to the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas and the neighboring municipalities of Bacoor, Imus and Dasma*riñas in Cavite province.

Earlier, LRTA said fifteen foreign and local companies submitted proposals for the project.

The investors who submitted intentions include the China BFECO Group, China National Technical & E Corp., China Overseas Northwest Construc*tion Engineering Co. Ltd., PJI Corp. of Japan, International Business Develop*ment of Japan, AMA Group Holdings Corp. and Achivesta, a consortium of Japan-Filipino investors.

Companies that also expressed intentions include the Isolux Corban of Spain, Rites Ltd. Of India, Infrastructure Leasing and Network Services Ltd. of India, DM Consunji Inc., Sumitomo Corp., China State Construction Engineering Corp., and China Railway South Group Co Ltd. Overseas Engineering Co. of China.

The winning bidder will fund the design, construction and installation, as well as integration of the extension with the existing line. It would also be in charge of the integrated operation and maintenance of the entire line and provision of enhancement works.

The LRT Line 1 south extension project will have a 40-year concession period inclusive of the four-year construction period.

The LRTA wants to start the construction in the middle of next year. The first phase (Baclaran to Dr. Santos Station) of the project will be completed and in revenue service by the year 2010 while the second phase (Dr. Santos Station to Niyog, Bacoor,) will be completed in 2012.

The extension will include eight new passenger stations, with provision for two additional future passenger stations, which is expected to serve 800,000 passengers a day and cut travel time from Bacoor to Monumento in Caloocan City, to less than an hour.

nakaka-asar pumila sa MRT3 pag rush hour., kaya bumili ako ng...,

http://i11.tinypic.com/4yqzaz8.jpg
G-PASS

http://i16.tinypic.com/62stlxk.jpg

how do those things work exactly there is a card reader you put your phone to

^^ you just tap the chip into the reader., pag nag blink na ng green., then go na., :) madali lang siya gamitin., at least no more need for looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong lines during rush hours., :)

^^ Here's the idea, why can't they bring mrt cards closer to people instead, like lets say your nearest grocery or even sari sari store to ease up the congestion if they can't afford those dispensers?

i have one g-pass... pano ba register yung sa globe?

k ty

so you get a chip but what has does got to do with globe, do phones of globe users have the chip?

you can reload your G-Pass using G-Cash. :) and you get updates everytime you use your G-Pass., you can also check your G-Pass load using sms..., :)

you can buy a g-pass chip at the globe booths inside the MRT stations., you can also reload from there., (so you can use the G-Pass even if you're not a globe subscriber,.. :) )

is the connection..between lrt2 and lrt1 in the recto and doroteo jose station completed?...anybody... the last time i took the lrt2 and lrt1...about 3or4 mos ago...you still have to go down ground level to cross over
it's already connected via the long bridge overlooking the squatters area.

He took the LRT 3 or 4 months ago, that means he'd already seen the long bridge connecting LRT2 Recto to LRT1 D. Jose. It had been built a long long time ago, everyone knows about it already so I don't think he's asking for that especially when he's been there just a few months ago.

I think what he's asking for is the bridge overhead the LRT1 D. Jose station that connects the LRT2 Recto Station and the LRT1 D. Jose Staton's northbound platform, to the D. Jose Southbound platform, so you woundn't have to go down and cross Avenida to get to the other side.

^^ tapos na ata.., although i havent used the expanded station yet..., nakita ko may mga nagkocross na sa taas ng bagong station., although i'm not sure..., :)

you can reload your G-Pass using G-Cash. :) and you get updates everytime you use your G-Pass., you can also check your G-Pass load using sms..., :)

you can buy a g-pass chip at the globe booths inside the MRT stations., you can also reload from there., (so you can use the G-Pass even if you're not a globe subscriber,.. :) )

Highly recommended ang G-Pass although one or two turnstiles lang meron bawat station, aside dun sa tabi ng security guard (for employees and such) pero minsan kahit may X dun sa turnstile, pwedeng gamitin exclusively for G-Pass users palabas. Special treatment, walang pila... hehehe :dance:

But, getting updates via SMS for your G-Pass is not really advisable. After a while, hindi na kasi pareho ang actual balance ng G-Pass mo (when you check sa G-pass stall) sa isesend nila through SMS and most of the time delayed ang dating ng message/s (minsan kinabukasan na). Although it's nice to get unwanted SMS once in a while as you enter and leave the stations, parang ang daming katext. Hahahaha

He took the LRT 3 or 4 months ago, that means he'd already seen the long bridge connecting LRT2 Recto to LRT1 D. Jose. It had been built a long long time ago, everyone knows about it already so I don't think he's asking for that especially when he's been there just a few months ago.

I think what he's asking for is the bridge overhead the LRT1 D. Jose station that connects the LRT2 Recto Station and the LRT1 D. Jose Staton's northbound platform, to the D. Jose Southbound platform, so you woundn't have to go down and cross Avenida to get to the other side.

yup...na gets mo ....that was what i was referring to....thx

Asensado si Richard ah.. :lol:

nakaka-asar pumila sa MRT3 pag rush hour., kaya bumili ako ng...,

http://i11.tinypic.com/4yqzaz8.jpg
G-PASS

http://i16.tinypic.com/62stlxk.jpg

kasya sa wallet??? sana in Calling Card size??? batit pabilog??

strategy yan...para madaling ma misplace...pag nawala, bili ulit...:D

kasya sa wallet??? sana in Calling Card size??? batit pabilog??

yung gagawing bago para sa LRT2, parang pa credit card ang itsura (pero RFID rin)., may news article about that na napost dito dati.,

sana 200 petot na lang ung unlimited ride na puede sa LRT1, LRT2 at MRT.

o kaya may mas malaking halaga ng stored value :) (kaya naman ata to dba?) 100 kasi kulang pa sa isang linggo dba?

kulang sakin 100 pesos na stored value., kung araw araw ako may pasok. hindi siya aabot ng 1 week., kasi kung 14 a ride., 2x a day., 28 pesos a day., 100 / 28 = so 4 days lang., (that includes the free ride.,) pero thats just for me. (na 14 pesos per ride.,) :)

Hey guys, is there a thread or an article here about the bombing that happened in Blumentritt station new years eve??? Can't remember what year though, sorry.

Larry

Hey guys, is there a thread or an article here about the bombing that happened in Blumentritt station new years eve??? Can't remember what year though, sorry.

Larry

december 30, 2000., hence the name "rizal day bombing"...,

december 30, 2000., hence the name "rizal day bombing"...,

Thanks. I wasn't there when it happened, but I heard it in the news here sa US and we live close to the LRT Blumentritt station.

BTW, do you study @ PUP, since you always get off at Pureza station. Just curious:)

:cheers:
Larry

I think what he's asking for is the bridge overhead the LRT1 D. Jose station that connects the LRT2 Recto Station and the LRT1 D. Jose Staton's northbound platform, to the D. Jose Southbound platform, so you woundn't have to go down and cross Avenida to get to the other side.

I took that route when I visited Manila last month. The signs from LRT1 D. Jose (Baclaran-bound) to LRT2 Recto were there, but the area was still cordoned off. Tanong pa ako sa guard kung kelan bubuksan, "malapit na" daw pero in the meantime I still had to go down, cross and go back up again to transfer to LRT2.

Siyempre, pagbaba ko sabay buhos ng malakas na ulan tapos pagtawid ko tumigil na ulit. :mad: Sana matapos na nga.

I have to say, the new trains at LRT1 are a big improvement from the last ones I took it a few years ago. I used to dread riding the line since most of the time, the aircon wasn't working and the windows barely opened. I hope they can maintain these. Also, the guards seem to be doing a good job of enforcing the women/children/disabled area. On a few stations they even looked in and pulled out the dissenters.

Thanks. I wasn't there when it happened, but I heard it in the news here sa US and we live close to the LRT Blumentritt station.

BTW, do you study @ PUP, since you always get off at Pureza station. Just curious:)

:cheers:
Larry

yep yep., :) thats why i use the lrt2 everyday (well, everytime i go to school., hehehehe., :) santolan-pureza.., :)

Cool!!! I went to PUP myself, batch '90 :D

Larry

wow., :) fellow PUPian., :)

anyways.,
i saw this ad at the commuter express (newspaper at lrt) last friday aug 10. :)
http://i10.tinypic.com/5x3i246.jpg

^^ woohoo!!! hopefully that's not just an advertisement for something that will start construction in about 3 years time.

yep yep., :) thats why i use the lrt2 everyday (well, everytime i go to school., hehehehe., :) santolan-pureza.., :)

Cool!!! I went to PUP myself, batch '90 :D

Larry

mee tooo....had my masteral degree in pup graduate school.....

wow., :) fellow PUPian., :)

anyways.,
i saw this ad at the commuter express (newspaper at lrt) last friday aug 10. :)
http://i10.tinypic.com/5x3i246.jpg

^^ woohoo!!! hopefully that's not just an advertisement for something that will start construction in about 3 years time.

that is really good news....sa wakas....it seems....somebody is doing something.....

^^ Oh wow!!!!! Man it would be nice if we have a clearer copy of that ad! This is AWESOME!!! First massive ad for this extremely significant project that is now being broadcasted to the public (other than the never ending clips here and there). Plus it also shows how it would probably look like, something which we could only speculate up to this point. :okay:

you can reload your G-Pass using G-Cash. :) and you get updates everytime you use your G-Pass., you can also check your G-Pass load using sms..., :)

you can buy a g-pass chip at the globe booths inside the MRT stations., you can also reload from there., (so you can use the G-Pass even if you're not a globe subscriber,.. :) )

Ah usefull info. I hope gamitin na to sa lahat ng line including north and south rail and the ferrry (pati bus na rin!) so that we have an easy unified system.

^^ Oh wow!!!!! Man it would be nice if we have a clearer copy of that ad! This is AWESOME!!! First massive ad for this extremely significant project that is now being broadcasted to the public (other than the never ending clips here and there). Plus it also shows how it would probably look like, something which we could only speculate up to this point. :okay:

this is the bestest, goodest news regarding pinas developments i have heard of in 5 years.

this one will channel even more people and businesses into the
quezon city-cbd/ortigas-cbd/makati-cbd "axis of power".

but as always, it may all be hearsay and anecdotal(although that big advert seems like funding for the project has already been earmarked, and seems it will be built without delays... cross our fingers!)

i dunno why the gov't isn't even mentioning about building a link to fort boni, eh mas modern naman ang fort boni kesa monumento area...

any cbd needs a modern transit system-- if one has to live up to the hype.

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/2692/barcelonasights202dy9.jpg


Aside from the LRT's/MRT's.Is it possible to have trams on high lying areas in the metro?

how about the monumento circle??? destroy! destroy! destroy! ("j)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalbongdad/sets/72157601576363072/
pics from yesterday....the bridge that links lrt1 (doroteo jose stn) and lrt2 (recto stn) via the elevated walkway is now open although the escalators are not in operation yet...at least now you don't have to go ground level to change tracks...

how about the monumento circle??? destroy! destroy! destroy! ("j)

Why not build around it? ... or under it?

Why not build around it? ... or under it?

of course they will build around it....they cannot move the monument itself because its location alone has meaning.....how it faces and where has also...significance....they will definitely build around it...

yeah... I'll be against the destruction of Bonifacio's Monument.... I'd prefer that they demolish the Monumento LRT1 Station and put it underground and the connecting rail line to MRT3...

why not in the future, maybe after 15-20 years, reconstruct the 3 existing MRT lines, put them underground, replace LRVs with full metro trains that are really state-of-the-art (ala HK MTR trains), refurbish Line 2's trains to make them really state-of-the-art, and install anti flood features on every stations?

hmm.... maybe 25-30years pa.. heheheh...

why not in the future, maybe after 15-20 years, reconstruct the 3 existing MRT lines, put them underground, replace LRVs with full metro trains that are really state-of-the-art (ala HK MTR trains), refurbish Line 2's trains to make them really state-of-the-art, and install anti flood features on every stations?

hmm.... maybe 25-30years pa.. heheheh...

fyi lrt2 is state of the art...it is at par with what is being used by other metro rails...in asia...its the lrt1 that is kinda old....that is why they recently bought new 3G rail cars from japan to upgrade....

there is nothing wrong with the present elevated rails...the next thing to do is to expand and integrate...and that is what the gov't is doing now...may be with the economy getting better...the way to go next is subway...with high speed trains...like maglevs..

Wala na bang bagong balita tungkol sa ibang lines na balak itayo? Yung pag dugtong nga sa MRT at LRT (North to Monumento) parang drawing pa rin :c

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has installed 47 closed circuit television cameras on all of its 18 stations to maintain security in these areas and keep passengers safe from terrorist attacks, radio dzBB reported on Saturday.

Radio dzBB quoted the LRTA management as saying that the Rizal Day bombing in 2000, which left 22 dead and more than 100 injured, won't happen again, now that the closed circuit TV cameras on the stations' exits and entrances and in other sensitive areas at LRT Line 1 have been installed.

LRTA's Jinky Gregorio was quoted as saying that the agency is prepared against sympathy attacks that could be mounted amid the heightening offensive of government troops against terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in Basilan province.

The report said the LRTA is also eyeing to put up walk through metal detectors to improve its surveillance capability. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/57667/LRTA-installs-47-monitor-cameras-for-passengers-safety---report

This is good for the security of passengers..good job :banana:

Wala na bang bagong balita tungkol sa ibang lines na balak itayo? Yung pag dugtong nga sa MRT at LRT (North to Monumento) parang drawing pa rin :c


I saw an ad in the newspaper that MRT 7 is already a go. Construction will start this year.

I saw an ad in the newspaper that MRT 7 is already a go. Construction will start this year.

Really?? That's great news. I thought there are still some things needed to be finalized based on the previous posts at the back pages.

yeah, i saw those ads too.. il try to scan them and post them here later.. if i can find our copy of the newspaper..

yeah, i saw those ads too.. il try to scan them and post them here later.. if i can find our copy of the newspaper..

please do post an image of that news item...thanks.....the last info that i posted here is that mrt7 is due for approval/disapproval this december.....by the neda board....sana ma approve...and so is the extension to cavite...and the airport link....it will make the philippines the 2nd most extensive mass transport in south east asia....after thailand....

wow!... really.... this is great news!...

I'm really waiting for the building of MRT7... this will be very beneficial for us people living in the north... specially us living farther than FAiRview... :D

here we go.. im just placing the thumbnails so they wont take up too much space.. just click on the images to see them up close so you can read the text..

http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0001.be8.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0001.be8.jpg) http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0002.36e.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0002.36e.jpg) http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0003.d1f.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0003.d1f.jpg)

^^ that's great new.., so we just have to wait for the october final approval?

here we go.. im just placing the thumbnails so they wont take up too much space.. just click on the images to see them up close so you can read the text..

http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0001.be8.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0001.be8.jpg) http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0002.36e.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0002.36e.jpg) http://images6.theimagehosting.com/scan0003.d1f.th.jpg (http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=scan0003.d1f.jpg)

^^ that's great new.., so we just have to wait for the october final approval?

well...i thought it was already approved...it was only endorsed....it will then be decided...this sept...if go or no go....hopefully we will have the good new by sept....work is supposed to start....1qtr of 2008....

Govt poised to buy out MRT 3 operator
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/aug/30/yehey/metro/20070830met3.html

THE government is set to buy out the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract governing the Metro Railway Transit 3 by next month, an executive of Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) said.

“It’s being finalized. The Department of Finance and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) are extremely interested in finalizing the [buyout],” Robert John Sobrepena, MRTC and Fil-Estate Corp. chairman told reporters.

“We are interested in doing it. Some of our bondholders are already signified their go ahead signal on it. So, I expect it to be finalized very soon. Maybe we’re talking weeks,” he added.

Sobrepena said the government instead of paying his company about $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion for 20 years is opting to prepay or buyback the assets of MRT 3.

“It may end up purchasing the company. Definitely it would be lower than the $1 billion,” he added.

Sobrepena said the government could save around $400 million from the early buyout.

In a telephone interview, Roberto Lastimoso, MRT 3 administrator confirmed that the early buy out could happen “any time.”

“We are finalizing together with DOF and DOTC the memorandum of understanding for the refinancing of the equity of MRT 3,” he said.

The MRT 3 administrator said that based on the present value, the government could save around $400 million.

The idea of buying out the rail transit operator was raised because the government can no longer afford to subsidize its operations. The government is paying $3.3 million a month for equity payment and $1.67 million for maintenance costs the project’s Japanese operator Tespi Corp., a subcontractor of Sumimoto Corp.

Lastimoso said that if the government failed to buy back MRT 3, it will have to pay $10 million a month by 2010.

Public subsidy amounts to P48 a passenger. With a daily ridership ranging from 420,000 to 430,000, the government pays at least P20.46 million a day given the minimum fare of P10 a passenger.

An earlier study showed that the government stands to earn $1 billion in savings from the early buyout of MRT 3.

The MRT 3 was built by a group led by the Fil-Estate under a contract that requires payment in 25 years of about $655 million.

Under the contract, the government has committed a 15-percent return on equity to the private investors.

State firm’s borrowed money eyed for LRT North extension
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/aug/31/yehey/business/mainbus.html

STATE-RUN Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is eyeing the proceeds of a borrowing undertaken by state-owned National Development Co. (NDC) to finance a mass rail system that will run from Caloocan to Quezon City, the Department of Transportations and Communication (DOTC) said.

Transport and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza told reporters that the LRTA will borrow money from the NDC to fund the construction of a 4.5 kilometers elevated line seamlessly from Monumento Station of Line 1 to North Avenue Station of Line 3.

“The NDC will be issuing bonds and the LRTA is looking to use part of these proceeds,” Mendoza told reporters.

Earlier, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila, who chairs NDC, said the state corporation plans to sell P10 billion of the P50-billion Agriculture-Agra*rian bonds or debt papers.

Costing about $119.4 million, or P6.57 billion, the LRT North Extension project is expected to start construction by early next year.

Of the total cost, the civil and architectural works would amount to $70 million; electromechanical works, $32 million; consultancy services, $9.6 million; and contingency services, $7.8 million.

“The feasibility is already completed and it will be submitted to [National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee] for approval,” Mendoza said.

The LRT North Project is expected to serve around 800,000 to 1 million passengers once it is fully operational.

The project is one of the priority projects of President Arroyo under the Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region. The project aims to extend the existing LRT Line 1 to the North to close the EDSA Loop which would require three additional stations from the existing Monumento Station of Line 1 to the North Avenue Station.

The stations will be located in Munoz, Balintawak and North Avenue.

Melquiades Robles, LRTA administrator had said that the LRT North extension will be bidded out “by end of the year.”



rail networks of Metro Manila "from japan site"
http://file.uploadr.com/100b5-embed

Gov’t to spend $865M on Manila rail deal

Reuters
Last updated 07:41pm (Mla time) 08/31/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- The government will spend $865 million to buy out a private consortium that runs an overland rail network in the capital, resulting in savings of $380 million, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said on Friday.

Teves said the government would save money by buying out the consortium that currently runs the line now rather than making annual payments to them until the original contract runs out in 2025.

"We signed the document last night and among the salient features is it's an all-in package," Teves told reporters.

"We will have to look for the money to pay off the $865 million," he said. "We were given six months starting Aug. 27 to implement the agreement."

Teves said the government was looking at possibly tapping the international debt markets for funding.

"We're still looking at the market to find the best way of handling this. It's best to decide on it as quickly as we can."
__________________________________

obviously, it's the MRT3 buyout, i'm wondering why they are skeptical to mention it. perhaps it's the best way to report everytime the government makes a deal. ohohoho :lol:

Bids invited for LRT extension

By Riza T. Olchondra

MANILA, Philippines -- An auction for the P6.57-billion northward extension of Line 1 of the overhead Light Rail Transit in Metro Manila will start next week, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Melquiades Robles told the Inquirer.

He said the feasibility study for the project had been finished and that the project was expected to generate a lot of interest.

The project will extend the LRT Line 1 by 5.4 kilometers from the Monumento Station to the Metro Rail Transit station in North Avenue. The link will close the so-called Edsa loop of overhead railway.

New stations will be built at the Muñoz and Balintawak areas and at North Avenue, beside the Metro Rail Transit station.

“If all goes well, the project will be finished by April 2010. We don’t foresee any problems,” Robles said.

Construction is expected to start next year.

The LRTA is also talking to power grid operator National Transmission Corp. (Transco) for a direct power connection for the Line 1 extension.

Robles told reporters in an earlier interview that the LRTA had long wanted to address interruptions in commercial power supply, especially when typhoons strike, by tapping directly into a power provider or getting more generators.

There are two options for a direct connection.

“One is the substation in Balintawak and the other is in Araneta,” Robles said. “Connecting with the substation in Balintawak is cheaper and easier because we would just need about five kilometers of cable. And this opportunity opened up because we will be having a station in Balintawak under the extension project.

Govt buys MRT’s debts
By Eileen A. Mencias
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business1_sept1_2007

The government signed an agreement Thursday night to buy out the $865-million debt of Metro Rail Transit Corp., a consortium that operates the Metro Railway Transit System 3 along EDSA, to save as much as $380 million in interest cost.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves told reporters at the sidelines of an awarding ceremony at the Land Bank of the Philippines that the Department of Finance, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Metro Rail Transit Corp. signed the agreement.

Teves said the government now has up to Feb. 27, 2008 to implement the agreement, including finding the means to refinance the debt.

“We now have to look for the money to pay them,” Teves said. “It could be a combination or series of options but we do not have anything definite yet.”

Teves said the transportation and communications department had requested that it be allowed to present their legal and valid claims on the buyout.

The MRT-3 project (phase 1) is a 17-kilometer light rail system along EDSA that runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City, with 13 stations and 73 light rail vehicles with a capacity of 450,000 passengers. The project had an actual cost of $675 million but the approved project cost was $678 million.

By buying out MRT-3’s debt, government stands to save some $380 million. The interest on MRT-3’s debt is at 12.5 percent to 15 percent. With interest rates much lower than the rates on MRT-3, government can borrow now at lower rates and save money.

That's one more piece of good news!

Excellent news finally seems like accommodation by both sides has reached compromise. If this is correct there should be little standing in the way of wally's vision of an interconnected lrt 6, lrt1, mrt 3 all on one train!

i think it woul really be better if the gov't buys...mrt3....ang pangit ng service ng mrt3...the stations are dirty...talo pa ng lrt1...yung lrt1.....1983 pa....itong mrt3 panahon lang ni erap....ang dami pang problema..

‘Super City’ to rise in Bulacan :banana: :banana: :banana:
By Dino Balabo
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Nation&p=49&type=2&sec=28

SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan – A “super city” will soon rise in one of Bulacan’s most populous areas, following the construction of the $1.2-billion Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT) in the next two years.

Mayor Eduardo Roquero told The STAR that the “super city” will rise at the 200-hectare former Puyat property in Barangay Tungkong Mangga here where the first inter-modal terminal will be constructed.

The inter-modal terminal will be the last terminal of the 20.7-kilometer MRT-7 line that will start from SM City North EDSA in Quezon City, where the MRT-2 north station is located.

According to Roquero, the super city will have commercial, residential spaces on high-rise buildings similar to that of Eastwood estates in Libis.

“We expect more investments to pour into San Jose del Monte even before the construction for the MRT-7 begins,” he said.

Construction will be handled by the Light Rail Transit Corp. and will start between late 2008 and early 2009. It is expected to be completed by 2010.

Aside from the MRT-7 project, Roquero also said the construction of the Circumferential Road 6 (C-6) is about to start.

The 40-kilometer C-6 project will branch out of the North Luzon Expressway between its Malolos and Marilao segments.

He said at least 20,000 workers will be initially employed by the two mega-infrastructure constructions and stressed that it will be a big boost to the economy of the city with about 500,000 residents.

In preparation for the said mega projects, Roquero said they are preparing for the education of the city’s workforce.

“Initially, we allotted P5 million in our Annual Investment Plan (AIP) for the education of our skilled workers, including masons, and other construction workers,” Roquero said.

He added that they will also offer computer secretarial and janitorial courses to upgrade the skills of their workforce.

San Jose del Monte was converted into a component city of the province through a plebiscite on Sept. 10, 2000.

This year, the city is celebrating its seventh anniversary as a city.

Neda-ICC approves extension of LRT Line 1
By Cai U. Ordinario
Full report at the Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09052007/economy03.html

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC)-Cabinet Committee (CC) has approved the extension of the LRT Line 1, the Laguindingan Airport and the changes in scope of the Bacolod (Silay) Airport.

The extension of the LRT Line 1 is in line with the plans of the government to purchase the contract for the MRT 3 from the Metro Rail Transit Corp. The Laguindingan Airport project is among the 25 official development assistance projects that have cost overruns, while the Bacolod Airport project has yet to be completed.

Neda documents stated that the P5.98-billion LRT Line 1 North Extension Project will close the MRT-LRT loop by extending Line 1, which ends in Monumento station, to the North Avenue Station of MRT 3. It is proposed by the Light Rail Transit Authority.

The project involves the construction and detailed design of a 5.71-km elevated line with two new intermediate stations, Roosevelt and Balintawak, and a terminal station, the LRT 1 North Avenue station.

“The Balintawak station will provide modal interchange with bus and jeepney services entering Metro Manila from the north via the North Luzon Expressway,” the Neda document read.

The project will be implemented for a period of two years. Construction will begin in 2008 and will be completed by April 2010.

...

Good News but labo lang ng article suddenly inthe middle they talk about 2 different airports. Talk about segue.

finally the loop......:banana: good work....

^^ akala ko idudugtong na ung MRT sa LRT ibang station pala ang itatayo katabi ng MRT North EDSA. Well at least we have the loop!!! :d

I wonder how the trains would look like? Would it look like the trains that run the LRT line 1?

"Super City" is a bit too much. I was expecting a city that looks better than Makati. =P

‘Super City’ to rise in Bulacan :banana: :banana: :banana:
By Dino Balabo
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Nation&p=49&type=2&sec=28

SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan – A “super city” will soon rise in one of Bulacan’s most populous areas, following the construction of the $1.2-billion Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT) in the next two years.

Mayor Eduardo Roquero told The STAR that the “super city” will rise at the 200-hectare former Puyat property in Barangay Tungkong Mangga here where the first inter-modal terminal will be constructed.

The inter-modal terminal will be the last terminal of the 20.7-kilometer MRT-7 line that will start from SM City North EDSA in Quezon City, where the MRT-2 north station is located.

According to Roquero, the super city will have commercial, residential spaces on high-rise buildings similar to that of Eastwood estates in Libis.

“We expect more investments to pour into San Jose del Monte even before the construction for the MRT-7 begins,” he said.

Construction will be handled by the Light Rail Transit Corp. and will start between late 2008 and early 2009. It is expected to be completed by 2010.

Aside from the MRT-7 project, Roquero also said the construction of the Circumferential Road 6 (C-6) is about to start.

The 40-kilometer C-6 project will branch out of the North Luzon Expressway between its Malolos and Marilao segments.

He said at least 20,000 workers will be initially employed by the two mega-infrastructure constructions and stressed that it will be a big boost to the economy of the city with about 500,000 residents.

In preparation for the said mega projects, Roquero said they are preparing for the education of the city’s workforce.

“Initially, we allotted P5 million in our Annual Investment Plan (AIP) for the education of our skilled workers, including masons, and other construction workers,” Roquero said.

He added that they will also offer computer secretarial and janitorial courses to upgrade the skills of their workforce.

San Jose del Monte was converted into a component city of the province through a plebiscite on Sept. 10, 2000.

This year, the city is celebrating its seventh anniversary as a city.

baliw ba siya?....nde nagiisip yung mayor na yon ano....mrt7 to be finished in 2 years....from north edsa to san jose......20km...eh yung pag complete lang ng loop...na less that 5km ata yun...will take 2 years...yung mrt7 pa...na 20+km.....nangarap ng gising....baka na misquote lang ang mayor....baka yung inter modal....terminal lang ang two years....to construct...nde yung buong mrt7....milagro yun...eh hanggang ngayon wala pang approval ng neda-icc yun....naghihintay pa ng go or no go....

^^ Dito na kasi kayo sa NorthRail at SouthRail Thread muna..:banana: .... May mga bago kaming developments and updates lagi courtey of our Northrail and Southrail fans :lol: O di ba.. Sir kalbongdad.. Actually modern naman ang Northrail at Southrail, so if ever na ala pang approved papers, chances are baka di pa ma2loy ang LRT7.. Pero we have to expedite this LRT7 because it will be the counterpart of Northrail to East Bulacan....

Did anyone get a copy of yesterday's Inquirer Libre?

The ads for the (cheap) lrt monumento-mrt north ave stn. rendering was posted there...i was not able to get a copy, can someone scan and post it here?

Thank You! :)

^^^^

That article was posted a couple of pages back.

Saw this old article http://www.philippinebusiness.com.ph/archives/magazine/vol10-2003/10-7/policy.htm
and the portion that caught my attention was

"MRT 4, an estimated $960-million project proposed by a French-Filipino consortium that got initial approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in 1998, will be a 20-station elevated line running northeast from Doroteo Jose (Recto) in Manila to Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City. It would pass through España, Quezon Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, and Regalado Avenue, then connect with MRT-3’s North Avenue station. But the change in leadership after the 1998 elections has affected this plan – like most of the projects every time there is an administration change. Some city officials of Manila, meanwhile, have suggested building subways instead."

So the MRT4 got its initial approval during the administration of Ramos.
Question, do you think if the change of gov't didn't take place, this project would have pushed through?

If only our Senators and Cong weren't too preoccupied with these investigations left and right, I guess we already have an even more extensive mass transport system.

Saw this old article http://www.philippinebusiness.com.ph/archives/magazine/vol10-2003/10-7/policy.htm

So the MRT4 got its initial approval during the administration of Ramos.
Question, do you think if the change of gov't didn't take place, this project would have pushed through?

If only our Senators and Cong weren't too preoccupied with these investigations left and right, I guess we already have an even more extensive mass transport system.

We currently have an extensive mass transport system PLANNED :lol:
Although i only see them as plans for now, i will believe all of it once the lrt-mrt link is done...:lol:

I still feel sad. I read somewhere that Taiwan only started building their mass transport system back in the early 90s. Even before Singapore and Taiwan have had their first "MRTs" we already have LRT-1. Again, it's the change of gov't. What did the Aquino administration leave behind? During the Aquino and Ramos administration, we could have started adding more lines of mass transport system and by this time, our system would have been already similar to probably Taiwan or Hong Kong. I wonder why mass transport system was never prioritized during those administration.

I still feel sad. I read somewhere that Taiwan only started building their mass transport system back in the early 90s. Even before Singapore and Taiwan have had their first "MRTs" we already have LRT-1. Again, it's the change of gov't. What did the Aquino administration leave behind? During the Aquino and Ramos administration, we could have started adding more lines of mass transport system and by this time, our system would have been already similar to probably Taiwan or Hong Kong. I wonder why mass transport system was never prioritized during those administration.

Kc puro pajaporms ang ginagawa ng mga yan nun. IN other words, wala talagang nangyari sa administrations nila.

Saw this old article http://www.philippinebusiness.com.ph/archives/magazine/vol10-2003/10-7/policy.htm
and the portion that caught my attention was

"MRT 4, an estimated $960-million project proposed by a French-Filipino consortium that got initial approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in 1998, will be a 20-station elevated line running northeast from Doroteo Jose (Recto) in Manila to Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City. It would pass through España, Quezon Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, and Regalado Avenue, then connect with MRT-3’s North Avenue station. But the change in leadership after the 1998 elections has affected this plan – like most of the projects every time there is an administration change. Some city officials of Manila, meanwhile, have suggested building subways instead."

So the MRT4 got its initial approval during the administration of Ramos.
Question, do you think if the change of gov't didn't take place, this project would have pushed through?

If only our Senators and Cong weren't too preoccupied with these investigations left and right, I guess we already have an even more extensive mass transport system.

I still feel sad. I read somewhere that Taiwan only started building their mass transport system back in the early 90s. Even before Singapore and Taiwan have had their first "MRTs" we already have LRT-1. Again, it's the change of gov't. What did the Aquino administration leave behind? During the Aquino and Ramos administration, we could have started adding more lines of mass transport system and by this time, our system would have been already similar to probably Taiwan or Hong Kong. I wonder why mass transport system was never prioritized during those administration.



Line 4 got stalled because the City of Manila passed a resolution basically requiring all new lines to be built underground. This made any new line much more expensive to build. In addition a new line was proposed that had right of way conflict (mrt7). This line has much more political backing hence has been fast tracked.

Don't feel too sad, progress is not measured by infrastructure alone. That said best to understand how the process of government works since all administrations want nothing more than to build as much infra as possible so you can do something about it rather than feel depressed!

About the bill, I guess they should pass something like that if they already have definite "plans" of building a subway system. I know the bill is more for "aesthetics" but who needs aesthetics if building an elevated train system would sure help ease out our traffic problem (and pollution too)?

About the conflict with MRT 7, then they should have just cut the line until the station where it intersects with the MRT 7

Peter Wallace (the caucasian who is always interviewed by ANC) once said that sometimes, we as a country should just push through with infrastructure projects even if the project is: over priced or anomalous or dripping with corruption because infra projects like bridges, mass transport, roads etc etc generally pay for themselves and more over time.

i thought he may have a point since wala namang project dito sa atin na walang halong delihensya e.. this is how low my standards with our officials have sunk..

This got me thinking, so the office of the President can have projects like that. But of course it's not as easy as dictating the construction of infrastructures like that. It has to pass through a certain process and a lot of things can get into the way.

Well in all fairness to the President, she's got the the Strong Republic Transit project. And we should also appreciate the developments no matter how sluggish it may seem. The efforts to rehabilitate the PNR is a major jump start.

I still lament the fact that we have once a train system that go as far as Dagupan to the north and we have five tram lines in Manila. I wonder how Manila would be if we've remained a colony either under Spain or the US?

We were so eager to claim our independence back then and our officials today seemed like wasted it.

He does have a point in that in the end what's important is that the infrastructure exists because the long term benefits outweigh what is usually the extra cost of corruption.

The Manila Resolution was passed because the city council claimed that the darkening corridors brought about by the lrt's overhead rail lines over narrow streets tended to kill commerce, the case being avenida. I think overall there is some truth to this but in the bigger picture they also tend to overlook other contributions such as increased productivity for other manila enterprises, improved quality of life of manila commuters etc.

Actually the current MRT7 proposal somehow just seems to forget about lrt4, it's not the main issue it's keeping so long. It's basically that the government does not have the money to pay for this line right now considering that line 6, lrt 1 extension, north and south rail are also being built. They have to balance it with other infrastructure needs. I think line 7 will come in due time as will parts of line 4 and line 8. We also should be open minded as right now a BRT system is being studied perhaps even for some of these lines, so we will have to see what it says.

there was no infra projects in the previous administrations because they were busy with politics...today with the present admin of gma...and with better economic managerial skils...she was able to reverse the downturn...we are now on the upswing that is why you can see now...infra projects left and right.....inspite of that si gma pa ang contrabida sa mga pulubi nating kababayan...dahil nde nila alam...ang mga magagandang nangyayari...mas importante siempre sa kanila ang sikmura.....anyway....hopefully we will be able to sustain this positive trend...

Yung administrasyon ni Aquino, mas maiintindihan ko kung bakit natuon ang kanyang pansin sa pulitika. Pero yung kay Ramos. Sana mas marami siyang naisagawang proyektong pang imprastraktura. Siguro dahil na rin sa Asian Crisis pero patapos na ang termino niya. Nasundan naman ng Erap administration tapos puro pulitika na naman.

Peter Wallace (the caucasian who is always interviewed by ANC) once said that sometimes, we as a country should just push through with infrastructure projects even if the project is: over priced or anomalous or dripping with corruption because infra projects like bridges, mass transport, roads etc etc generally pay for themselves and more over time.

i thought he may have a point since wala namang project dito sa atin na walang halong delihensya e.. this is how low my standards with our officials have sunk..

true, kaya nga sa kakatipid, nakatipid ba talaga??

We're already OT since this is about LRTs in general and line 7 in particular. Suffice it to say that not all the sentiments expressed here are reflective of the facts. Just check the dates of the opening or start of the various lrt lines. More importantly check what other infrastructure or economic structural reforms were achieved in other administrations. Many may have short memories when people had to pay bribes to pldt linemen and wait for years to get a phone line or sit in the dark for days at a time because of no electricity or have no choice for an airline, etc.

It's because the politician's of our country don't need mass transport.They have their 4x4's with drivers and police escorts to weave away from traffic.So they forgot that ordinary people who cannot buy cars need a good transport system,it's a basic need!!! for God's sake!!

looking at the positive side....we are now moving and moving fast....so let us all help...gma...in pushing this country forward and in one direction.....hayaan na natin ang mga pulitiko...trabaho talaga nila ang mamulitika....wag na lang pansinin at wag iboto ang puro dakdak wala naman maipakita na accomplishments...

5 banks to refinance MRT
By Lawrence Agcaoili
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business1_sept12_2007

Five foreign and local banks have expressed keen interest in helping the government raise funds to pursue plans to buy out the $865- million debt of Metro Railway Transit Corp., Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.

Teves told reporters yesterday the five foreign and local banks have conveyed their interest to extend loans to the national government to pursue the buyout that could help save as much as $380 million in interest costs.

Teves, however, declined to name the five banks but hinted that they have conveyed their interest formally and informally.

The government, through the Department of Finance and the Department of Transportation and Communications, signed an agreement with Metro Railway Transit Corp. to buy out the $865 million debt.

The company, which is majority owned by the Fil-Estate Group of businessman Robert John Sobrepeña, operates a 17-kilometer light rail system along Edsa from North Ave. in Quezon City to Taft Ave. in Pasay City.

The government pays higher interest on the project, ranging from 12.5 percent to 15 percent. The project’s actual cost stood at $675 million.

Teves said the government could save as much as $380 million as it could now borrow at lower rates compared with the rates when the loans were obtained to pursue the project.

He said the government now had up to Feb. 27 next year to implement the buyout.

He also said the government would privatize the operations of Metro railway-3 after a successful takeover.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, through Memorandum Order 181 in August of 2005, tasked the department to head an inter-agency committee to draft a takeover strategy.

The committee is composed of representatives from the departments of finance, transportation and communications, and budget and management, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Build-Operate-Transfer Center, and the Presidential Legal Counsel.

On top of interest payments, the government shells out at least P6.8 billion every year to subsidize the operations of the project. Instead of each passenger paying P60 for the entire stretch, the government subsidizes the P45 of the total fare as each passenger only pays P15.

The government also spends another P250 million in maintenance fees every month.

Spoke with one of the bondholders. They're already at documentation level.Basically pricing has been agreed upon. A very good development for MRT and the Republic.

...little steps , one by one...

^^^ If the government takes over mrt, does that mean they are going to be under lrt right? Does this mean more improvements? Its just that the lrt lines were so much more well managed due to the improvements and addition of trains.

^^ thats something all of us are hoping for.. :) more trains, better management, better stations.. better everything.. haha..

Well theoretically, if mrt is bought by the GOP the MRT Corp would be fully owned by the GOP, it seems logical to merge this and run it under lrta. At the very least they would be well coordinated with the possibility of connecting lrt1 to mrt3, that would mean you could see lrt1 trains on the mrt line and vice versa. It would also mean that the additional trains that mrt3 needs can now be procured by lrta as they can easily finance the extra trains. I seem to remember a need for an extra 21 trainsets for line 3 alone. That would allow bundling the trains into sets of 4 rather than 3. I can't exactly remember how much the new nippon sharyo trains of line 1 are but a train would ussually cost 3 to 4 million$ each so all they'd need is additional 80 to 100m$.

MRT consortium expects gov’t takeover of EDSA line in 6 mos
By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
PhilStar
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Business&p=49&type=2&sec=27&aid=20070914144

The MRT consortium, led by holding firm Fil-Estate Corp. (FEC), expects the government to take over Line 3 of the railway transit system traversing along EDSA in the next six months.

FEC chairman Robert John Sobrepeña said majority of the MRT shareholders are amenable to the government’s proposed buyout of the MRT 3 assets since they would “receive the money now instead of waiting for 20 years.”

“We are finalizing the agreement and we are hoping we can do this in about six months,” he added.

Sobrepeña said the government has decided to buy out MRT 3 to save billions of pesos in annual subsidies.

He said the government would generate $400 million to $500 million in savings once it buys back the bonds previously issued to fund the construction of the railway.

The bonds would be worth $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion at the end of the 25-year concession.

The buyback of the bonds is a precondition to the government’s assumption of ownership of MRT 3, which runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Should the government fail to buy back the assets of MRT 3, it would need to shell out $10 million a month by 2010.

Aside from FEC, other shareholders of the consortium are conglomerate Ayala Corp., Unilab, the Atlas group and the Campos group.

The Department of Finance earlier said at least five banks had offered to lend the government $865 million to buy out the assets of MRT 3.

Under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract between the government and the MRT consortium, the private-sector led group is given an assured rate of return on investment of 15 percent a year. Long-term borrowings are currently charged only a single-digit interest rate a year. MRT 3, however, has been bleeding heavily in the past years due to low fare and high costs.

The government has also been shelling out P6.5 billion in subsidies a year to meet the 15-percent rate of return assured under the BOT contract.

Multi-layered flyovers, MRT proposed for Metro
By JOSE RODEL CLAPANO
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=92386

Makati City police chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said Thursday that Metro Manila’s perennial traffic problems can still be solved by constructing multi-layered flyovers and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations – patterned after those in Bangkok, Thailand – on various thoroughfares in the metropolis.

“I think the government officials in our country, like Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, can explore this for the sake of solving the (worsening) traffic situation in Metro Manila,” said Cruz, who attended a six-day training program organized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Bangkok along with eight other police officers.

Cruz said that from the Bangkok International Airport to the Bangkok city proper, they experienced no traffic due to the three or four-layered flyovers for vehicles in Thailand.

“It was a very convenient travel and the design of their flyovers separate those going back and forth to the north and southern part of Bangkok. There are many things we can apply in our country. The only thing we need is the political will from the government to do it,” Cruz said.

He said Binay may explore using Makati as a pilot area for the three-layered railways widely used in Bangkok.

“The travel in Bangkok is very smooth because they have the so-called subway and the two other layers of MRT on the road. Thai people looks the same as the Filipinos. The weather there is also similar in the Philippines. The government of Thailand is constructing more multi-layered flyovers all over Thailand,” Cruz said.

Cruz said Metro Manila can get rid of the complicated “U-turn” slots designed by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando. The barriers forming the slots have claimed the lives of many motorists, he said.

He said many politicians have visited Bangkok, but apparently “just enjoyed (themselves) there. They did not observe or they did not absorb what they saw there.”

Cruz noted that in Bangkok, “there was no pollution because they do not have too (many) old vehicles. I think the oldest vehicle that they have is model 1993, such as a Honda Civic.”

Cruz said the low crime rate in Bangkok can be attributed to its residents policing their own ranks.

"He said many politicians have visited Bangkok, but apparently “just enjoyed (themselves) there. They did not observe or they did not absorb what they saw there.”"

I like this comment

LRT 1 extension costing P5.98B is a go–Neda board
By Jennifer A. Ng
Reporter
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09192007/economy04.html (http://http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09192007/economy04.html)

THE extension of LRT Line 1 is now for implementation after the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board has given its go-signal for it.

Neda officer in charge Augusto Santos said in an interview that the board—chaired by President Arroyo—has given its nod to the LRT Line 1 extension in a meeting Tuesday.

“We have already approved the extension of LRT Line 1 on Edsa, and the project will now be implemented,” said Santos.

The extension of the LRT Line 1 is in line with the plans of the government to purchase the contract for the MRT 3 from the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC).

Neda documents show that the P5.98-billion LRT Line 1 North Extension Project will close the MRT-LRT loop by extending Line 1, which ends in Monumento station, to the North Avenue station of MRT 3. The project was proposed by the Light Rail Transit Authority.

The project involves the construction and detailed design of a 5.71-km elevated line with two new intermediate stations, Roosevelt and Balintawak, and a terminal station, the LRT1 North Avenue station.

“The Balintawak station will provide modal interchange with bus and jeepney services entering Metro Manila from the north via the North Luzon Expressway,” the Neda document read.

The project will be implemented for a period of two years. Construction will begin in 2008 and will be completed by April 2010.

That's wonderful!

wow.. great great news! :) hopefully there wont be any inquiries or investigations..

Why aren't MRT3 and LRT1 connected in North Avenue. So, there will be two stations in North Avenue? I think it is not good.

actually there will be three stations in North Ave.... MRT3, LRT1 ext, and MRT7....

mga tol di ko makita yung northrail southrail thread??? nag sarado na kase yung dati.... pa link naman nung bago salamat..

umm diba dapat kasama nalang ng thread na ito yung sothrail northrail????

tapos question lang pow... ano nangyari sa 2G trains??? sinilaban na ba???

SM Prime offers to fund station of LRT North
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/20/yehey/business/20070920bus6.html

SY family-owned SM Prime Holdings Inc. has offered to finance the construction of an additional station worth hundred millions of pesos for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 North Extension project, an official of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) told The Manila Times.

In a telephone interview, Federico J. Canar, LRTA project manager, said SM offered to fund the additional station to be built at an estimated cost of P100 million between the proposed Roosevelt and North Avenue stations adjacent to its property.

“The work on this additional station would be totally independent of our construction work. LRTA and Shoe Mart are going to enter into a MOA [memorandum of agreement] for this additional construction work,” Canar said.

The LRTA and the consultant of the project, Metrolink JV, had met with the owners of Shoe Mart Department Stores last month.

Estimated to cost around P5.98 billion, the project involves the construction, including the detailed design of a 5.71-kilometer elevated line from Monumento station of LRT Line 1 to North Avenue of Metro Rail Transit 3, two new intermediate stations (Balin-tawak and Roosevelt) and a terminal station (Line 1, North Avenue station).

The Balintawak station will provide modal interchange with bus and jeepney services entering Metro Manila from north via the North Luzon Expressway.

Of the total P5.98 billion, civil and architectural works amounted to P3.3 billion; electromechanical works, P1.9 billion; consultancy services, P317.4 million; and contingency, P318 million.

Canar said the LRTA may tap the proceeds of the National Development Co. (NDC) bond issuance to finance a mass rail system or subsidize the agency’s budget for the product.

The project will begin construction in 2008, with target completion in April 2010. Once running, the LRT North extension is expected to serve about 800,000 to 1 million passengers.

mga tol di ko makita yung northrail southrail thread??? nag sarado na kase yung dati.... pa link naman nung bago salamat..

umm diba dapat kasama nalang ng thread na ito yung sothrail northrail????

tapos question lang pow... ano nangyari sa 2G trains??? sinilaban na ba???

tumatakbo pa rin paghapon.

SM Prime offers to fund station of LRT North
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/20/yehey/business/20070920bus6.html

SY family-owned SM Prime Holdings Inc. has offered to finance the construction of an additional station worth hundred millions of pesos for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 North Extension project, an official of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) told The Manila Times.


so there will be an MRT station right in font of SM North EDSA? wow.. i wonder if the LRTA would approve of this.. i guess it pays to be rich.. i hope that they do the same thing for the other end.. meaning, make an MRT station going to MOA.. haha..

so there will be an MRT station right in font of SM North EDSA? wow.. i wonder if the LRTA would approve of this.. i guess it pays to be rich.. i hope that they do the same thing for the other end.. meaning, make an MRT station going to MOA.. haha..

SM Would probably fund the exterior design of the LRT Terminus, maybe a seamless transfer to the Mall (of course). Most likely it will be connected to SM ...That's for sure (inggit sa TriNoma :lol: )

They will approve this of course, the only problem is that they can't put it too far from MRT North Ave..So that the future direct walkway won't be too difficult to walk to..:lol:

Plus MRT7? Gandawaw na and triangle na yan ah..Fabulous! :cheers:

20 more infrastructure projects identified
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business4_sept20_2007

The Luzon Urban Beltway, one of the five super regions created by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has identified 20 more infrastructure projects that will be implemented in Luzon until 2010.

Edgardo Pamintuan, chairman of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council and the Luzon Urban Beltway, said this brought to 44 the number of infrastructure projects that the LUB would implement in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and the provinces of Mindoro and Marinduque.

These projects were among those mentioned by President Arroyo in her State-of-the-Nation Address in July.

“All in all, there are 44 projects now under LUB. We have 14 roads and bridges, 8 railways, 5 seaports and RoRo [roll-on roll-off] ports, 4 power and electrification projects, 3 water projects, 2 airports, 2 hospitals, 1 irrigation project, 1 flood control project, and 1 housing project,” Pamintuan said.

He said they include six major road projects: Metro Manila Skyway Stage 2 (Bicutan-Alabang, Muntinlupa), North Luzon East Expressway (Bulacan, NCR and Nueva Ecija), North Luzon Expressway Phase 2 (C-5 to McArthur Highway), South Luzon Expressway Extension (Alabang-Calamba), Tarlac-La Union Toll Expressway Phase 1 (Tarlac-La Union), and Tarlac-Nueva Ecija-Aurora-Dingalan Road (Tarlac-Nueva Ecija-Aurora).

Four rail projects have also been identified, namely Light Rail Transit Line-1-Ninoy Aquino International Airport Connector (Baclaran LRT1-NAIA), LRT Line-2 Phase-2 (Santolan LRT-2-Masinag, Antipolo), Mainline South Railway Project Phase 1A (Laguna, Quezon), and Metro Rail Transit-3 capacity expansion (Edsa).

The additional projects also include two port projects—Batangas Port in Batangas and Port of Real in Quezon.

Several water, irrigation and energy projects will be implemented, including the Laiban Dam project in Rizal province, Barangay Electrification Program, National Electrification Administration Subsidy Program for electric cooperatives on rural electrification, Bataan liquefied natural gas terminal, Bataan-Manila pipeline project, Biñan-Sucat239 KV Transmission Line Project, Small Irrigation Project, and Kamanava Flood Control Project (Kalookan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzula).

Other projects were the Women’s Medical Center and upgrading of the National Kidney Transplant Institute and other government hospitals, and low-cost housing program for resettled families.

“The projects that are to be implemented or being implemented nationwide will be supervised by the LUB together with other super regions concerned that have territorial jurisdiction over them,” Pamintuan said.

“The LUB is tasked to orchestrate and fast-track the delivery of these projects at a very least cost to the government and in full transparency,” he said. “This means synergizing all the elements necessary and getting together all the players and stakeholders to be, if necessary, single-minded in the agreed overall goal of achieving more developments.”

SM Prime offers to fund station of LRT North
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/20/yehey/business/20070920bus6.html

SY family-owned SM Prime Holdings Inc. has offered to finance the construction of an additional station worth hundred millions of pesos for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 North Extension project, an official of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) told The Manila Times. ....

Both public and private sector can think up more of these win-win arrangements.

800,000 to 1,000,000 - that's a lot. I bet if they increase the amount trains running on mrt, this number could even go up more than 50%!!!!

So hindi pala nabanggit sa State of the Nation address yung MRT-7.

SM Prime offers to fund station of LRT North
By Darwin G. Amojelar Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/20/yehey/business/20070920bus6.html

SY family-owned SM Prime Holdings Inc. has offered to finance the construction of an additional station worth hundred millions of pesos for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 North Extension project, an official of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) told The Manila Times...

It can be a long walk if the new station would be placed at the far end of SM-NoE, being almost a kilometer apart from each other...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b358/thomasian/north.jpg

GMA's promise of connecting the lrt 1 to mrt 3 is way overdue. 2004 palang sinasabi na nya to eh...sana eh bago matapos term nya matapos na to.

NEDA okays P18.6-B projects; include P6.3-B LRT 1 extension

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20070922103630.html

EDU LOPEZ

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has approved three projects worth P18.6 billion involving Mindanao peace and development, sectoral program and metro rail projects.

Endorsed for funding and implementation are the P11.592-billion Mindanao Peace and Development (MPAD) Program of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO), the P675-million Sectoral Enhancement for Enterprise Development (SEED) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and P6.323-billion LRT Line 1 North Extension Project of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

The MPAD program aims to promote economic growth, better governance, peace and security by developing needed economic infrastructure and improvement of governance and social services in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

It continues activities under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and the Philippines signed on May 18, 2005.

The MPAD programme, to be implemented from October 2007 to September 2012, will be funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Supported by a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) grant, the SEED aims to increase the competitiveness of key small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) by improving their capacity to mobilize resources; expand market access and increase employment; strengthen government and private sector partnerships and capacity to improve the policy environment for SME development; and improve capacity of organizations to deliver business support services.

The SEED comprises three components: facilitating competitiveness of key SME sectors; facilitating competitiveness by enhancing access to markets; and improving the enabling environment by addressing business policy constraints.

The project will also promote the equal participation of women and men in the access to and the control of resources, benefits and services provided by the project.

Meanwhile, the LRT Line 1 North Extension Project or closing the MRT 3-LRT 1 Loop aims to complete the interconnection of these two railways by connecting the Monumento Station of LRT Line 1 to the North Avenue Station of MRT 3.

It involves the design and construction of a 5.71kilometer elevated line from Monumento Station of LRT Line 1 to North Avenue of MRT 3, two new intermediate stations (Balintawak and Roosevelt), and a terminal station (LRT North Avenue Station).

The Balintawak station will provide modal interchange with bus and jeepney services entering Metro Manila from the north via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

To be funded by bond flotation of the National Development Company (NDC) and the LRTA revenues and budget, the project will be implemented for two years with construction to begin next year until April 2010.

Also approved were the requests for additional fund replenishment for the KfW-Assisted Local Government Units Investment Programme (LIP) of the Land Bank of the Philippines, loan validity extension for the Infrastructure for Rural Productivity Enhancement Sector (InFRES) of the Department of Agriculture, the proposed additional cost and supplemental loan for the Subic-Clark Toll Expressway Project of the Bases Conversion Development Authority and the Laguindingan Airport Development Project of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Rail loop under way
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=police1_sept22_2007

The National Economic and Development Authority board headed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has approved the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line-1 at a cost of P6.323 billion.

In a statement, the authority said the loop project would complete the interconnection of Line-1 at its Monumento station in Caloocan City to the Metro Rail Transit-3 at North Avenue in Quezon City.

The project involves the construction of a 5.71-kilometer elevated linkup, two new intermediate stations at Balintawak and Roosevelt, and a terminal station at North Avenue, beside the sprawling Trinoma shopping complex and SM City.

Light Rail Transit Authority administrator Melquiades Robles earlier said the plan was to open the bidding for the loop contract by the fourth quarter of the year.

Once completed, the project is expected to serve 80,000 to 100,000 rail passengers, on top of the 440,073 light rail patrons daily, according to Robles.

As designed, the Balintawak station would provide interchange with bus and jeepney services entering Metro Manila via the North Luzon Expressway.

Neda said funding would come from the bond flotation of the National Development Co. as well as LRTA’s internal cash.

The LRTA, which operates Line-1 and Line-2, posted P1.162 billion in revenues in the first half of 2007, up by 7.35 percent from a year ago.

The project will be implemented for two years with construction to begin next year.

Wait wait wait, This is so not right. So this isn't a seamless connection between lrt1 and mrt3??? They are building a separate station in front of SM north edsa instead of linking lrt1 directly to the North Ave. station of MRT3? Talk about inefficient and impractical.

I'm not too sure Ben.

I read it differently, I don't really see anything that says the line will not connect, in fact I think they only have 2 stations funded , but SM is offering to put up a new one as this would be favorable to them. As long as it does not affect LRT/MRT operations adversely, I'm in favor of this. As Aaron pointed out the walking distance if they put the station near the SM City Annex end would still be 840 meters away, similar to the distance between Ortigas and Shaw station. As long as they get it done quickly and most importantly put the new cars in to increase capacity then am all for it!

Rail loop under way
Manila Standard
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=police1_sept22_2007

The National Economic and Development Authority board headed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has approved the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line-1 at a cost of P6.323 billion.

The project involves the construction of a 5.71-kilometer elevated linkup, two new intermediate stations at Balintawak and Roosevelt, and a terminal station at North Avenue, beside the sprawling Trinoma shopping complex and SM City.


Wait wait wait, This is so not right. So this isn't a seamless connection between lrt1 and mrt3??? They are building a separate station in front of SM north edsa instead of linking lrt1 directly to the North Ave. station of MRT3? Talk about inefficient and impractical.

From how it's described...In My Opinion/Point of View

It looks like a similar setup of MRT3-LRT2 Cubao Stations...They are interlinked by Gateway Mall & Farmers Market..

If The terminus be connected to both sprawling malls, It should sit on top of North Avenue making TriNoma the Loop Connector..(another possible advantage to TriNoma)

Come to think of it, if i'm right MRT7's North Station will also be near TriNoma...dang! TriNoma is very strategically placed! :lol: There was a report that SM will invest on the North Station so it's gotta be near one of SM's buildings...Also, this can become the rumored SM NoE-Trinoma Bridgeway... Everything makes sense now...This is super exciting!

A Flourishing North Triangle Awaits!:banana:


P.S.
placing it near Annex would be terrible, it's too far and tiring to transfer trains! Just like the LRT2-LRT1 walkway (sabi nila ang haba haba daw)

@dance: I'm also thinking the same thing. Haaay. Well, at lest they would just extend LRT-1 and not build a different line altogether, like what was planned before.

i agree, the MRT3 should be connected to the new existing loop, it would be stupid to make people get off the existing MRT3 line to ride another 2-3 stations to get to balintawak station..

After being harrassed by a racist j*ckass in the Economy section with mods doing absolutely nothing, I've decided to take a forum break for a while and go to a galaxy far far away. But I can't help coming back because of this particular thread since the MRT/LRT projects in Metro Manila is one of my major passions. Anyway, here is my take on the discussion with regards to the MRT/LRT loop.

1) As of now, the deal with the government to purchase the MRT from the MRTC is not yet finalize. I believe this has to happen in February (namely the funding) but the necessary steps to make the ball rolling has already happened. If you look at past posts, this was going on with an August deadline and it looks like the government was able to meet that deadline or close to it. So until that deal is final and the government has full ownership of the MRT3 so it can do whatever it wants with it, NEDA, the LRTA and all agencies, even the project consultant and contractors has to assume and work on the basis that a terminus LRT1 station in North Avenue has to be done.

2) Note that even with government control of the MRT3, there is still no guarantee that the two lines will connect. While logic dictates that they should, there could be a multitide of reasons why, some we can only speculate. It could be that another agency may need to operate it for whatever reason or perhaps there is some other details about the contract that make the two lines legally not connectable. We simply will have to wait for more definite news but an earlier article that was posted did indicate that if the government does successfully purchase MRT3 from the private consortium, physically connecting the two lines will be greatly considered.

3) With regards to SMC and their proposed additional station (not the terminus station) near their shopping mall, it won't affect the project either way. I agree wholeheartedly with bustero's assessment and its not unusual to have two stations, the proposed SM station and either the MRT3 station if the lines will physically connect or the Terminus LRT1 North Ave station, close to each other because of demand. The Ortigas and Shaw station is a prime local example but even in the Skytrain of the Greater Vancouver area, the Surrey Central Station, which is located beside a mall and office complex and King George Station, located in a new high rise residential area is very close to each other (much closer than the proposed SM North and the existing MRT3 terminus station), literally a walk across the street.

Even at the current state, as XP pointed out so clearly, what's happening at this point in time is definitely better than that awfully dreadful EDSA North Transit, aka ENT, proposal! So I'm happy on what's going on and will be extremely joyful if the two lines to physically connect, which we hope it would... :yes:

^^^ Welcome back, sorry for your unpleasant harr-arsement

I hope mrt3 and lrt1 do connect seamlessly because that would increase the amount of trains running on both line and that it the end would increase ridership and COMFORT in riding them.

I have been felt up to many times on mrt3 when i was there due to overcrowding

The question is did you like it or not?? Just kidding!!!!! Are you sure are being felt up or it may have been pick pocketer??? I've had that happen once to me, there was this chick standing next to me, not in a train but in a bookstore, I felt her hand which is mostly finger, I just let it thinking she wants something. Well, she does want something, not me but I forgot I had a 500.00 peso bill in my pocket seperated from my bill fold so when I pay I don't have to pull my billfold out. Guess what? When I was getting ready to pay for the purchase, dang 500 bucks is missing and she run off on me.. She was cute too, I just shook my head...

so LRT1 would extend soon. is it indicated in the proposal that there will be an increase in trains? aren't they gonna fix the waiting time of the passengers and the travel time. sakit sa ulo yung "traffic". hindi organized kaya tumitigil sa gitna ng dalawang station. and then the captain would say sorry for delaying because there is a train in front. that's just not a valid reason.

don't we have any proposal to make the tickets universal to all light rail lines? isn't it obvious that the LRT lines have a problem with controlling the crowd?

^^ LRT1 has that problem because its not a system that can run as a "driver-less configuration" like the LRT 2 where the system is virtually controlled by the command center in Santolan. I bet that the train engineers of LRT 1 is still using a manual go-no-go signal from the station control officers themselves. So a miscalculation by one of the station control officers will result in a cascading delay of trains because the other station control officers did not make the necessary corrections.

I think LRT 1 should upgrade their traffic control system together with this extension project because they will have the same problem all over again if they don't and this time the tracks are 5.71 kms longer! Increase capacity but the same problem!

Question: Will the LRT 1 Extension North EDSA Station be constructed at the North Avenue side?

lets wait....for it....just hope that the station will be better designed this time....

Palace to decide on fate of new rail project
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/24/yehey/business/20070924bus4.html

THE fate of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT 7) is in the hands of President Gloria Arroyo, as the proponent, Universal LRT Corp. Ltd. (ULC) insisted on its proposed performance bond offer to the government, people familiar with the matter said.

An official of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said ULC insisted on its $220 million offer, payable every three years.

The official said proponent informed the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) that it would stick to its offer, citing the internal rate of return on equity of 11.9 percent that was approved by the government.

The DOTC source said the 11.9-percent rate or return is too low to attract other investors.

The government wants ULC to post a performance bond equivalent to $1.899 billion in tax benefits from the project and real-estate developments payable annually over the 25-year concession period.

The ULC earlier proposed $240 million, or 10 percent of both the construction and real-estate development components of the project. Its proposal consists of $220 million in real-estate development cost and the remaining amount for the construction cost payable every three years.

Another NEDA source said ULC also turned down a request of the interagency body for a performance undertaking.

Last Friday, the NEDA Cabinet Committee decided to elevate the issue to the NEDA Board, which the President chairs.

Costing about $1.235 billion, the MRT 7 project will run from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, to the North Avenue station of MRT 3, which will link the new line to Light Rail Transit Line 1.

The initial capacity of the new system will be provided by three-car trains operating at 3.57-minute headways with about 28,000 passengers per hour per direction.



____________________________



Govt set to purchase sub-performing assets
No service boost seen from MRT 3 buyout
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/24/yehey/business/20070924bus1.html

SEVEN years after the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) began running, the government is set to buy out its assets from a group of investors led by the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) ahead of the contract period purportedly to generate hundred millions of dollar savings a year.

The idea of buying out the rail transit was raised because the government can no longer afford to subsidize the train’s operations. The government is paying $40 million a month representing equity payment to MRTC and $22.7 million a month until 2010 for maintenance costs to Japanese operator Tespi Corp., a subcontractor of Sumitomo Corp.

The public subsidy amounts to P48 a passenger. With a daily ridership ranging from 420,000 to 430,000, the government pays at least P20.46 million a day given the minimum fare of P10 per individual.

The question is, will commuters benefit from the buyout?

Christian Omier, a 24-year-old advertising account executive based in Makati said his daily commute is a struggle, as he allots at least two hours for riding the train, including the normal physical tussle with other passengers.

Omier said the procession of rush-hour passengers at the North Avenue station, with queues running all the way down to the Edsa pavement, meant he comes in late to work thrice a week.

“It takes me 35 to 40 minutes to go into the station. Twenty minutes is wasted in lining up to go upstairs and another 25 minutes in getting a ticket and [past the turnstile],” the advertising executive said.

“Some of the ticketing machines are not working, [thus] overcrowd[ing] [on] the platform,” he added.

Margarita Magdoza, who teaches special children, has her share of complaints.

“It [riding MRT] takes very long, because I have to wait for my turn. It is always full. [The] MRT has very few trips,” she said.

Service unable to meet project goals

Omier and Magdoza are two of the 30 commuters The Manila Times interviewed, all of whom had complaints about the service. Twenty-two said they were usually late for work two to three times a week.

The MRT3 was built to speed up the commute and alleviate the chronic traffic congestion along EDSA. But the current capacity of the system is inadequate to meet the first goal, let alone the second. At present, the rail system has a fleet of 73 Czech-made air-conditioned rail cars, of which up to 60 three-car trains operate daily. The trains run at a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour to cover the rail system’s 13 stations in about 30 minutes, including 25 to 35 second stops in each station.

Data from the Metro Star Express, a unit of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), which operates MRT 3, showed that on September 13 at the North Avenue station, the busiest station during the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. rush period, about 21,549 passengers climbed onboard going south.

At the Quezon Avenue station, the number of passengers rose by 9,033, at the GMA-Kamuning station by another 4,780, and at the Cubao station by 6,853 more.

Arnel Manresa, MetroStar technical support staff head, said the problem is that the system has no additional trains to serve the increasing number of passengers.

“We need an emergency capacity expansion. The system is only designed to cover about 23,600 passengers per peak hour, but now the demand ballooned to 25,753 during rush hour. So we have a 9-percent deficiency,” he said, adding the designed demand of 23,600 had been breached as early as 2004 even as the government approved the capacity expansion this year.

Foregone revenues for govt

Manresa said the service “will be the same” even with the buyout. “We cannot do anything, because the train is limited. Our train is eight years old, although it’s properly maintained, the cars are overused.”

He admitted the limited number of trains explain the rush-hour delays commuters suffer, adding some of the automatic gates or the ticket dispensing machines are offline because the machines cannot read the tickets.

“Actually the problem is hindi mabasa ng machine dahil madumi ang ticket [the machine cannot read dirty tickets]. The regular cleaning is once a week, but here in the Philippines the minimum is two times a day,” he said.

The automatic gates in the 13 stations both south- and north-bound run to 191 machines, servicing an average of 400,000 commuters a day.

Manresa said the MetroStar tried to keep all automatic gates online during rush hours, especially in the busiest stations.

To be sure, the long queues not only cause delays for commuters, but also foregone revenues for the government. “The system is capable of servicing 600,000 a day, but the MRT cannot meet that because we don’t have enough trains. Our average ridership everyday is only 450,000 passengers,” Manresa said.

This means that the government’s foregone revenues reach P1.5 million a day given the minimum fare of P10 per passenger.

Ideal waiting time is five minutes

Manresa said that ideal waiting time for the passengers in the paid platform is only five minutes. “But, sometimes it took 20 minutes before you can ride the train particularly in [the] Cubao station,” he said.

Last year, the total ridership reached 135.17 million, lower than the projected 300 million a year. In 2005, the number of passengers stood at 128.7 million. Reveneus reached P1.65 billion last year from the P1.59 billion in 2005.
Manresa said “emergency capacity expansion” is needed to meet the projected 30,031 passengers’ per peak hour demand by 2010.

He said that MetroExpress decided to procure 30 three-car trains with three minutes headway or four-car trains with 2.5 minutes headway. At present, the system is using a three-car train with three minutes headway. By 2009, the additional trains are expected to be delivered and a year after will be operational.

He said that the government is allotting $67 million to purchase 30 more trains.

Besides the procurement of additional trains through MRTC, the government has proposed to the National Economic and Development Authority the purchase of 48 more trains. The project is estimated to cost $120.84 million to be financed by foreign donors.

Buyout cost to rise by February

On August 30, the government through the DOTC and the Department of Finance entered into an agreement with the private consortium led by the Fil-Estate group to buyout the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract of the MRTC for $865 million, ahead of the period stipulated in the concession agreement.

The early buyout will result in $380 million in savings for the government, according to Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves. An earlier study however showed that the savings can run to $1 billion.

Roberto Lastimoso, Metro*Star general-manager, said that if the government failed to buyback the MRT 3, it will pay $118.3 million in monthly equity payments by 2010.

The government has until February 20 to pay the private consortium.

Manresa said if the government pays the MRTC on February, the buyout cost would rise to $919 million. But if the government failed to settle its obligation come February, the two parties will maintain the BLT contract guarantee of 15 percent return on investment. The BLT contract stipulated that the consortium should be paid for 25 years.

everything takes time, mrt will eventually improve given that the demand is there. Ridership on mrt3 is phenomenal and growing, if the government handles the finances of mrt3 well in the coming years it can probably end up profiting from it in the end. I know the hassle of using mrt3 because i used it all the time when i was there, but whatever the hassle of mrt3, i think it beats any other form of public transportation.

even if the government finances MRT3, this won't improve. we all know how the Philippine government runs its operations.

actually it will improve if only because it's possible to buy the additional trains that were programed but never bought by the MRT corp. It will not be instantaneous but it will happen thru time. If they actually physically connect lines 1 and 3 making it a super line then even better as the new lrt trains and line 6 extension's new trains can run on this as well. We must remember that right now mrt3 is starved for cash as the GOP has not been remitting it's subsidy for a while already, hence no money for reinvestmen.

No service boost seen from MRT 3 buyout (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/sept/24/yehey/business/20070924bus1.html)

Seven years after the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) began running, the government is set to buy out its assets from a group of investors led by the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) ahead of the contract period purportedly to generate hundred millions of dollar savings a year.

The idea of buying out the rail transit was raised because the government can no longer afford to subsidize the train’s operations. The government is paying $40 million a month representing equity payment to MRTC and $22.7 million a month until 2010 for maintenance costs to Japanese operator Tespi Corp., a subcontractor of Sumitomo Corp.

The public subsidy amounts to P48 a passenger. With a daily ridership ranging from 420,000 to 430,000, the government pays at least P20.46 million a day given the minimum fare of P10 per individual.

The question is, will commuters benefit from the buyout?

Christian Omier, a 24-year-old advertising account executive based in Makati said his daily commute is a struggle, as he allots at least two hours for riding the train, including the normal physical tussle with other passengers.

Omier said the procession of rush-hour passengers at the North Avenue station, with queues running all the way down to the Edsa pavement, meant he comes in late to work thrice a week.

“It takes me 35 to 40 minutes to go into the station. Twenty minutes is wasted in lining up to go upstairs and another 25 minutes in getting a ticket and [past the turnstile],” the advertising executive said.

“Some of the ticketing machines are not working, [thus] overcrowd[ing] [on] the platform,” he added.

Margarita Magdoza, who teaches special children, has her share of complaints.

“It [riding MRT] takes very long, because I have to wait for my turn. It is always full. [The] MRT has very few trips,” she said.

Service unable to meet project goals

Omier and Magdoza are two of the 30 commuters The Manila Times interviewed, all of whom had complaints about the service. Twenty-two said they were usually late for work two to three times a week.

The MRT3 was built to speed up the commute and alleviate the chronic traffic congestion along EDSA. But the current capacity of the system is inadequate to meet the first goal, let alone the second. At present, the rail system has a fleet of 73 Czech-made air-conditioned rail cars, of which up to 60 three-car trains operate daily. The trains run at a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour to cover the rail system’s 13 stations in about 30 minutes, including 25 to 35 second stops in each station.

Data from the Metro Star Express, a unit of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), which operates MRT 3, showed that on September 13 at the North Avenue station, the busiest station during the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. rush period, about 21,549 passengers climbed onboard going south.

At the Quezon Avenue station, the number of passengers rose by 9,033, at the GMA-Kamuning station by another 4,780, and at the Cubao station by 6,853 more.

Arnel Manresa, MetroStar technical support staff head, said the problem is that the system has no additional trains to serve the increasing number of passengers.

“We need an emergency capacity expansion. The system is only designed to cover about 23,600 passengers per peak hour, but now the demand ballooned to 25,753 during rush hour. So we have a 9-percent deficiency,” he said, adding the designed demand of 23,600 had been breached as early as 2004 even as the government approved the capacity expansion this year.

Foregone revenues for government

Manresa said the service “will be the same” even with the buyout. “We cannot do anything, because the train is limited. Our train is eight years old, although it’s properly maintained, the cars are overused.”

He admitted the limited number of trains explain the rush-hour delays commuters suffer, adding some of the automatic gates or the ticket dispensing machines are offline because the machines cannot read the tickets.

“Actually the problem is hindi mabasa ng machine dahil madumi ang ticket [the machine cannot read dirty tickets]. The regular cleaning is once a week, but here in the Philippines the minimum is two times a day,” he said.

The automatic gates in the 13 stations both south- and north-bound run to 191 machines, servicing an average of 400,000 commuters a day.

Manresa said the MetroStar tried to keep all automatic gates online during rush hours, especially in the busiest stations.

To be sure, the long queues not only cause delays for commuters, but also foregone revenues for the government. “The system is capable of servicing 600,000 a day, but the MRT cannot meet that because we don’t have enough trains. Our average ridership everyday is only 450,000 passengers,” Manresa said.

This means that the government’s foregone revenues reach P1.5 million a day given the minimum fare of P10 per passenger.

Ideal waiting time is five minutes

Manresa said that ideal waiting time for the passengers in the paid platform is only five minutes. “But, sometimes it took 20 minutes before you can ride the train particularly in [the] Cubao station,” he said.

Last year, the total ridership reached 135.17 million, lower than the projected 300 million a year. In 2005, the number of passengers stood at 128.7 million. Reveneus reached P1.65 billion last year from the P1.59 billion in 2005.

Manresa said “emergency capacity expansion” is needed to meet the projected 30,031 passengers’ per peak hour demand by 2010.

He said that MetroExpress decided to procure 30 three-car trains with three minutes headway or four-car trains with 2.5 minutes headway. At present, the system is using a three-car train with three minutes headway. By 2009, the additional trains are expected to be delivered and a year after will be operational.

He said that the government is allotting $67 million to purchase 30 more trains.

Besides the procurement of additional trains through MRTC, the government has proposed to the National Economic and Development Authority the purchase of 48 more trains. The project is estimated to cost $120.84 million to be financed by foreign donors.

Buyout cost to rise by February

On August 30, the government through the DOTC and the Department of Finance entered into an agreement with the private consortium led by the Fil-Estate group to buyout the build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract of the MRTC for $865 million, ahead of the period stipulated in the concession agreement.

The early buyout will result in $380 million in savings for the government, according to Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves. An earlier study however showed that the savings can run to $1 billion.

Roberto Lastimoso, Metro*Star general-manager, said that if the government failed to buyback the MRT 3, it will pay $118.3 million in monthly equity payments by 2010.

The government has until February 20 to pay the private consortium.

Manresa said if the government pays the MRTC on February, the buyout cost would rise to $919 million. But if the government failed to settle its obligation come February, the two parties will maintain the BLT contract guarantee of 15 percent return on investment. The BLT contract stipulated that the consortium should be paid for 25 years.

DBP wants part of $ 865-M MRT3 loan
LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20070925103916.html

The Development Bank of the Philippines will submit proposals to the National Government to underwrite the $ 865-million loan syndication to refinance the MRT3.

DBP President Rey David said they are proposing to underwrite the loan. As underwriter the bank will partner with other investment banks to assume the risks and the NG credit.

"We are vying to be one of the financial advisers because the government will raise (a large amount of $ 865 million and we want to help package it," David told reporters.

"We will partner with other banks – and if we’re chosen (as underwriter) we will offer it for syndication," said David. As underwriter DBP will be responsible for placing the loan syndication with other banks and ensuring that the syndication is fully subscribed.

A participating bank in a syndication lends a portion of the total amount required. As for the borrower, in this case the NG, syndicated loans provide a more complete menu of financing options.

David said buying out the full MRT3 loan is good for the government because they will have interest savings of $ 380 million. "MRT3 loan is too expensive," he added. The $ 865 million carries an interest of 12.5 percent until fully paid by the NG.

Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said they may borrow the entire $ 865 million needed to buy out the build-lease-transfer-contract of MRT3 from the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC).

The government has until February 27 to refinance the debt. "But I’m hoping we can address this earlier (since) we’re given sufficient time to work out payments," said Teves.

Our MRT 3 needs to be upgraded especially the ticket barriers, eMU's stocks and the Elevators should be maintain(very slow), and also the capacity of each rolling stock, DOTC MUST convert the current 3 car rolling stock of MRT 3 into a 4 car rolling stock... so that to avoid over crowding especially in rush hours, just what LRT 1 did in the past years, by converting the 3 into 4 car trains...

If only the MRT 3's design becomes accrssible to disabled persons, upgraded rolling stocks, automated ticket vending machine, proper placement of ticket barriers and adding more of it, upgrading the elevators, providing more security and maintenance and extending it to Monumento.. it will gradually reduce the traffic.. and also if there's a strict implementation of LTFRB in giving permits to bus companies in operating in a congested highway.

Metro Manila desperately in need of the LRT 4 proj... along Q. Ave and Espana are like highway to Hell during rush hours... i wish along espana it is elevated, then upon reaching the border of QC it goes subway to preserve the trees in the island of Q. Avenue and also to avoid eyesore and also green boulevards are much better...

Here's how I see it.

The LRT-2 (Purple Line) is the only legit metro system that I've seen on Metro Manila.

For one, it is a heavy rail system and its cars is enough to fill the system's ridership. They should have considered the MRT line to use heavy instead of light metros since light rail cars cannot handle the amount of riders especially during rush hours.

The LRT-2 has an automated ticketing machine though its not as advanced as the MTR or London Underground. The LRT-1 and MRT still relies on falling in line and buying your tickets which to me cause great inconvenince. The system of waiting in line gives the MRT a fall for being a world class system.

Another is transit change. I find it a hassle when interchanging stations.

As for the future metro lines, I suggest using heavy rail instead of light rail.

For me I'm just being practical.

I want a mass transit system in place AS SOON AS POSSIBLE without being technology bound, meaning as long as it works it's ok. I have my preferences but the needs of the greater number of people outweigh my dispositions for rail or whatever type of mass transit. Light Rail, heavy rail, BRT, JRT (pauso ko iyan jeepney rapid transit), ok lang as long as it actually gets built and is usefull. We can improve it through time anyway but let's just get moving faster first.

^^ amen..
and i am really in favor of making the MRT to 4 car stocks instead of the 3 cars one.. isnt that a solution that the people at the MRT should be looking at first? *sigh

For me I'm just being practical.

I want a mass transit system in place AS SOON AS POSSIBLE without being technology bound, meaning as long as it works it's ok. I have my preferences but the needs of the greater number of people outweigh my dispositions for rail or whatever type of mass transit. Light Rail, heavy rail, BRT, JRT (pauso ko iyan jeepney rapid transit), ok lang as long as it actually gets built and is usefull. We can improve it through time anyway but let's just get moving faster first.

How will that work? okay ah. :lol:

^^ amen..
and i am really in favor of making the MRT to 4 car stocks instead of the 3 cars one.. isnt that a solution that the people at the MRT should be looking at first? *sigh

Other than the 4 stocks. How about a newer or refurbished car kinda like the new generation LRT cars.

how about FX rapid transit :D

All the transport system in the Metro should really be fixed. Whether it be padyak/sidecar, trike, jeepney .. all of them don't have any system at all causing a lot of traffic and inconvenience to passengers.

MMDA should not allow buses that are overloaded too.

Stephen, making the 3 cars of mrt into 4 is actually planned and the first step. It's actually the capacity upgrade for mrt 3, they don't plan to increase the train trips and drivers just the capacity per trip, so you're right on!

hehe JRT or Jeepney Rapid transit, I was thinking that some places you can not get rid of the jeeps because of political opposition so maybe just put them in their own lanes or side street purely for them and at least put them on LPG so that they don't pollute. simple lang first. Through time over say 10 years phase them out and put newer high capacity buses with the same or slightly bigger footprint as the jeeps and controlled access so they don't crowd each other out and stop anywhere. hehe if they have to then just make the outside of the buses look like jeeps not high tech and actually tacky but should shut up the noise makers.

^^ yeah i know, im just wondering when that first step would be..

and i totally agree that right now they should do the simple things first.. at least there would be improvements seen faster and let the major overhaul of the stations and everything else follow in the future..