LRT1 is riding the waves of revitalization in Manila. LRT2 is still spanking-new, while MRT3 gets no bacon.

Any news on future lines? MRT 7 looks set to start construction this year (or is it next?). LRT 1 extention also looks like it will start soon. How about other lines like MRT 4? I really favor the construction of line 4 as it is a crutial route.

Hey look, this is basically the same as our MRT 2 rolling stock:
http://www.rotem.co.kr/eng/business/images/body2_1_img7.gif
LRT 1 and MRT 2
http://www.lrta.gov.ph/images/cover_image.jpg

i got the first one from the Rotem website, the makers of our MRT 2 rolling stock.

well they are South-Korean made.. so they have to be based somewhere:P

Any news on future lines? MRT 7 looks set to start construction this year (or is it next?). LRT 1 extention also looks like it will start soon. How about other lines like MRT 4? I really favor the construction of line 4 as it is a crutial route.
i heard atienza won't allow line 4 unless it's underground

well they are South-Korean made.. so they have to be based somewhere:P

yeah, they are both made by Rotem, a South Korean company. So they basically got the Seoul line 4 rolling stock and built more for the MRT 2:D

i heard atienza won't allow line 4 unless it's underground

yeah, i heard about that too...I dont really mind if it is elevated or underground (even though i prefer underground) as long as they build it.

i heard atienza won't allow line 4 unless it's underground

well if he wants it underground, he has to make sure Espana doesnt flood that often.

Probably, they should take a look how BKK Subway system can sustain the flood ... during the construction as well as when they are operating in October ... However, the biggest test of all is when MRTA is working on the new line whch has to pass through Ram Khamhaeng area -> the lowest point of BKK since it is under the sea level ...

Yeah i agree. If they want to build a MRT 4 subway, they should do some study on the BKK subway, as Bangkok is a very "wet" city. I think they can do it, if Bangkok was able to do so.

So how did Bangkok do it? I know they also have equivalents of our esteros and am I right in thinking that they have a canal system connected to the river there? Are their floods caused by poor drainage or by other reasons?

In the Manila case, we not only have an estero drainage problem caused by silt and garbage blockages but we have the additional problem of having a water table that's been getting lower at an alarming rate. The whole city of Manila is actually sinking every year. This is due to many reasons, among which is artesian well drillings in the Metro. Because many people don't always have a reliable water supply, they take it upon themselves to drill their own wells. While on "wet" years the amount of water being drawn from the water table beneath the city is not problematic, during times of drought (which we often are in nowadays), all this unabated pumping is really making the city sink faster than the water tables can recover.

So it's not as simple as following BKK's model. There are particularities to the kinds of flooding they experience and the kind of flooding we experience. But I agree. We should look to them for inspiration.

well we're starting to open the Pandora's box of Manila. with all these problems, a subway will probably take a decade..

Khun Boybaha, Khun Renell,

What is estero drainage? For the case of water table in BKK, we GOT the same problems -> even though Metropolitan Waterwork Authority is doing their best to ensure continuting water supply for those who live around BKK, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakarn (the big 3 inside greater BKK Metro area)... and those Soda and Cola factories around BKK and vincinities feel very RELUCTANT to close down the artesian wells which are the main sources fo water to make cabonated water. The could NOT find any better subsituted artesian well yet.

Even we have several canals, many of them are very damned dirty full of rubbish and pollluted ... even though they got better days by days through either the cleansing by BMA workers or Army ... but still not good enough for fish to swim all the way from Minburi (Easter BKK Suburb) to Chao Phraya river instead of swiming from Minburi to Bang Pakong river in the east. :rant: The construct of giant swer plant is NOT done yet ...

Even worse, many canals have been filled up to make more land for buildings ....
and so many people consturt the new buiding whcih cause the big canals into smaller canals ... :bash:

Okay, let's go to the BKK Subway matter ->

The Early Construction in 1999-2000:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/MRTAphotos.shtml
Subway at Children Day - 2001
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/MRTAchil.shtml
Inspection opf Mochit Station (Now Chatucha Station) march 2001
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/tour01.shtml
Various BKK Subway Images - Includign Depots
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/various.shtml
Construction of BKk Subway - May - August 2001
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/const02.shtml
Inside Rama 9 Station - July 2003
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/Subway/rama9station.shtml
How all 18 Stations are Looking -> Look at here (in Thai - from MRTA Website)
http://www.mrta.co.th/main/knows_mrta1.htm
http://www.mrta.co.th/main/knows_mrta2.htm
http://www.mrta.co.th/main/knows_mrta3.htm
How MRTA Contractors can dig a tunnel (in Thai - need Thailands to translate)
http://www.mrta.co.th/misc_epb.htm
Stop Log for flood prone areas:
http://www.mrta.co.th/news/buite/stop_log.htm

well we're starting to open the Pandora's box of Manila. with all these problems, a subway will probably take a decade..

No, lets not get too pessimistic, renell. It could take a while, but im sure they can solve the problems involved. They just need the right planning and enough money to do so.

Wisarut,
Thank you for those great links. Bangkok subway looks like it's going to be great!

What is estero drainage? Estero is just the Filipino word for canal (I think it comes from Spanish actually). So estero drainage=canal drainage. Our canals are really filled with rubbish. The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority have always been trying to clear the canals but unfortunately, they keep filling up with silt and with rubbish. People need to be more disciplined with where they throw their garbage. Furthermore, we have informal settlers living at the edges of canals so they often have to be cleared out so that more public works along the canals can take place.

Also, like Bangkok, poor urban planning has allowed some of the canals to be filled. But these planners don't seem to realize that the canals are there as natural drainage for rain and overflowing river water.

What is estero drainage? Estero is just the Filipino word for canal (I think it comes from Spanish actually).

let me correct you boybaha.... Estero is the Filipino translation for creeks which are formed by the natural movement of water and connects to the river... Canal is an artificial artery of water usually built for sewers or transport... though here in Manila, the esteros become part of the canal system destroying its ecological balance and so is with the river....:D

:) Thanks for the correction. That's helpful info.

no problemo...:D

Actually, MMDA has been cleaning up these Esteros lately, and some of them in QC are now quite clean (very little garbage). They are still contineously cleaning all these esteros and rivers to prevent flooding, and they are doing quite a good job as flooding isnt as bad as before. But yes, many esteros are still filled with garbage.

well cleaning is not the solution. prevention and awareness is.

Cleaning is a solution. Its one of the steps. They would have to prevent it from happening of course, but since it is already there, they would have to clean it.:lol:

Cleaning is a solution. Its one of the steps. They would have to prevent it from happening of course, but since it is already there, they would have to clean it.:lol:

it's part of the solution, but it's not the solution alone. guess didnt make myself clear there. you find the cure... AND the prevention

Yeah, thats why is said its one of the steps;) which include prevention and awareness:)

Yeah, thats why is said its one of the steps;) which include prevention and awareness:)

yeah, my mistake. maybe they should cover the esteros with concrete. like they did in front of Makati Cinema Square. you built a road, easen traffic, and close an estero, preventing trash from coming.. possible?

Possible. Prolly a good idea, but if they can keep esteros clean, it would be better to keep the open as waterways look nice when clean.

A MRT 4 subway line is very possible. Lets see if any developments will materialize in the coming months/years, especially since Atienza has a fresh term.

Well, you see that only made flooding in Pio Del Pilar worse. Concreting over an estero means that the water that would usually go into an estero would make it go elsewhere.

well the road above it could have small holes in which the rainfall leads into. drainage that allows water, but not packs of junkfood or cans or stuff such.

that Amorsolo road that covered that creek make floodings at the corner of Amorsolo and Pasay Road and Pasong Tamo very bad...

my office is at the Fujitsu House building which is the 3rd lot from that corner... when a 3 hour continuous strong rain pours... it floods... it even makes lots of cars float....or even it could submerge a whole one.... round 4-5 ft high

oh right.. so it's a bad idea then? my mistake

Light rail line 2 to suspend
operations for 3 Sundays
Posted: 11:15 PM (Manila Time) | May 21, 2004
By Clarissa Batino
Inquirer News Service

THE LIGHT Rail Transit's line 2 running from Santolan in Pasig to Recto in Manila will suspend operations on three consecutive Sundays starting May 23 to complete improvements on the railway.

LRT Authority administrator Pacifico Fajardo said the company would have to finish installing fixtures on the 13.8-km rail system before classes start on June 7.

About 48,000 passengers who daily take the LRT line 2, also known as the Megatren, are expected to be affected.

"Our Line 2 will not have Sunday operations on May 23 and 30 and June 6 because we want to improve all the technical and operational settings needed by the entire system prior to the opening of classes on June 7," Fajardo said.

Operations Manager Ed San Juan said it would take three days to complete the installation of a custom-made walkway to ensure the safety of commuters on LRT line 2.

"The special casting metal arrived just recently. That material is ideal for rail systems because it is designed for exposure to different weather conditions. We also need time to transport remaining tracks to Recto portion of Line 2 from our depot in Santolan," San Juan said.

Afer the fixtures were installed, San Juan said, the number of passengers conveyed by LRT line 2 would increase to 100,000 during opening of classes. He said the number of passengers would grow to 345,000 daily once the Line 2 was fully operational in October this year.

By October, the P31-billion line 2 railway will extend to Legarda in Manila.

We target to reach the maximum ridership of Line 2 of 345,000. You multiply that with a fare of P14 and do the math," Fajardo said.

oh right.. so it's a bad idea then? my mistake

Yeah, Makati had its worst flooding ever, a few years ago because of it.

because of the concrete over it? or because of the canal alone?

some interesting news regarding the MRT-2...

Northrail starts as Line 2 grows
Railway Gazette - May 2004: City News

.......

April 5 also saw an inaugural trip on LRT Line 2 over the central section between Betty Go/Belmonte Street in Quezon City and Legarda in Manila. Free rides were offered on the following day, with commercial service starting on April 7. Previously, only the 4·5km section between Santolan and Araneta Center had been open. According to LRTA Administrator Pacifico Morales Fajardo, the final section from the interchange with Line 1 to Tutuban will open by October

.......

found the article on Railway Gazette. is there really a planned interchange that will physically connect the LRT-1 to the Megatren by re-routing maybe Line 1 to stop at Recto??? that would be awesome!! the Silom and Sukhumvit lines of the BTS Skytrain of Bangkok are connected through an interchange somehow and the terminal station has two platform levels. maybe that's why Recto hasn't been opened yet....!!

i doubt Line 1 will be re-routed. when they mean by interchange, it could be a mall, or another type of building. re-routing one line is too costly, creates traffic, and removes parts of Line 1 in operation for months possibly.

i agree renell...

too costly. they cant even finish phase two of the blue line (MRT3)...

yeah i think renell is correct. The interchange they are talking about is most likely a mall connection, as if it is the common station. MRT 4 is supposed to link up there, so maybe they are building a mall or something to have a proper connection between lines 1 and 2, possibly 4.

anyways, according to the article i posted, the whole line will be operational this october. watch that out guys.


what about expanding it more to the east? aren't they gonna extend it to Masinag?

Yeah, but that is a long term thing. I'd expect MRT 2 extention to the east will come after more than 5 years of operations.

I finally got to take the Megatren yesterday!!!! It was sooooo f***ing nice! definitely at par, and maybe even more advanced than the BTS Skytrain... too bad I wasn't able to take pictures. my mom had the digicam, so... but it looks better in real life than in pictures, I tell you... more than impressed talaga!!

got on at the V. Mapa station beside SM Centerpoint and went east to the Santolan station in Marikina. the whole architectural/interior design was awesome and it looked really, really modern and very classy. extensively used much glass, stainless steel, and metal (especially on the roof). I noticed the stations were also A LOT brighter than from what I've seen on MRT-3 and LRT-1 pics. it gives you pretty much the same natural light with a fully covered roof as with the open ceiling at the center of BTS Skytrain stations, so that is good. I liked how they really took time to choose the right materials and find the best design suitable for Manila. the platforms were also quite wide and very roomy. really good....

anyway, they had three TVMs at the V.Mapa station and one of them now accepted P50 and P20 bills. all gave change. I didn't notice how many were installed at Santolan, but I know there are at least five... maybe another five on the other side, but not too sure. I was also amazed at how they were able to afford at least two elevators and two escalators on each station!!!! there weren't elevators at BKK's BTS Skytrain, but there were of course escalators going into the platform levels and on a few stations, going up from street level. V. Mapa had three elevators cuz I saw an "Elevator C" sign (they label each elevator starting with A). although only PWDs (persons with disablities) are allowed to use them. the MRT-2 is a lot more accessible to the disabled now cuz two of the elevators go all the way down to the entrances of each side.

security, like JudeD said, is indeed very tight. two guards are at each entrance to frisk and check you with the little wand and the first level has one guard checking and helping people at the TVMs. the platforms have one guard on each side, and there is one guard on the train - pretty much impossible to be robbed in there now. there were also two cameras on each side of the platform and I'm not sure how many on the TVM level. @JudeD - the guard on the train doesn't run up and down the thing anymore, hehehe...! probably too long! hehe...

I just don't like the way they leave the doors open for 45 sec. at every stop. the a/c all spills out and I was almost sweating, sitting beside the doors. it's good how some guards do actually signal the driver to shut them sooner. when I got back to V. Mapa, it was a new lady guard and immediately after we got out and no one was left boarding the train, she did the little wave to the driver. but all in all, the trains were very clean and well lit. I like the big windows and the hard plastic (or fibreglass?)purple chairs are also good. they are four cars long and, like JudeD mentioned, are all connected.

oh yeah, the messages played to announce next station and arriving station are prerecorded in english and tagalog. "Next station: Gilmore/Ang susunod na istasyon ay Gilmore" or "Arriving at Santolan Terminal Station/Padating na sa Santolan Terminal Station" hehehe...! there was no music playing though. and, yeah, there were two LED displays on each side of the platform that showed how many minutes were left before the train would arrive and displayed announcements (such as the temporary closure of the MRT on May 23, 30 and June 6 for fine-tuning the service in time for school opening). also notice there were very little ads on stations and trains. the only ad I saw was of GMA advertising the MRT, I think.... hahaha... elections, of course! but she does deserve some credit for this stunning gov't project!

I think the gov't really went all out in this project. You get on it and you would rethink the existance of corruption in the Philippines. they added stainless metal railings along station walls, which isn't extremely necessary (but they do prevent getting handprints on the walls). they also used glass, metal and that cool white cladding material for architectural finishings and all that makes it much much nicer - though other gov't projects would usually only get plain white paint on every bit of wall that would fade out after only oh so many months. there was even a small colored-rock garden around the outside of the Santolan station that had this sort of pictures of the track criss-crossing each other. that was also unnecessary but looked good and is much better than having the project corrupted.

I guess that's it. I just really took the MRT for fun. I didn't even leave the santolan station, hahaha!!! got there, looked around and came back. I am really hoping the MRT-7 and MRT-4 as well as all future lines are done by the LRTA! this is soooo much better than the MRT-3...

:yes: Thanks for that Absent. I rode it last August, when it wasnt completely finished and i was really impressed like you. I think it is much better now that everything is in place. I agree with you, the government was not corrupt (or very little) on this project. Shows how good things could be. Hopefully, this will set an example for many other government projects in the future. Long live LRTA!!:applause:

I have little doubt that the MRT 7, LRT 1 extention, MRT 4 and any other lines will be worse. I'm sure they will be on par with MRT 2 or even better....LRTA did the right stuff on MRT 2, so they should be able to keep that trend for any other future lines.

:yes: Thanks for that Absent. I rode it last August, when it wasnt completely finished and i was really impressed like you. I think it is much better now that everything is in place. I agree with you, the government was not corrupt (or very little) on this project. Shows how good things could be. Hopefully, this will set an example for many other government projects in the future. Long live LRTA!!:applause:

I have little doubt that the MRT 7, LRT 1 extention, MRT 4 and any other lines will be worse. I'm sure they will be on par with MRT 2 or even better....LRTA did the right stuff on MRT 2, so they should be able to keep that trend for any other future lines.

wow, very descriptive. my uncle suggested we should joyride around the MRT/LRT lines, but we didn't have time. i'll just have to wait till next year

I'm gonna joy ride....hehe. But i dont think i can produce a report as descriptive as Absent's and Jude's:D

what would be cool is if we had someone, disguised as a architecture-fan-toursit-in-manila taking pics of LRT. someone caucasian, lol :D

what would be cool is if we had someone, disguised as a architecture-fan-toursit-in-manila taking pics of LRT. someone caucasian, lol how bout negroid? i'm mixed filipino-african, so whenever i go bac i'm viewed as a tourist :D:D:D: the perfect undercover agent ;) hahah .. problem is that i cant go Phils anytime soon! :crazy: in the middle of exams and hopefuly getting entry into Oxford Brookes Uni later this yr.. most probably after then i would go (later sept/early oct).... altho i'm hearing news that the govt isnt gonna take up NAIA3?? :(:( whats that all bout ha (stupid stupid govt!) ?? check the NAIA3 thread ppl

Hey MRT2 isn't just the only transit system in the world that doesn't allow photogeaphs taking. I just read last week in the New York Times that there is a rule change in the works in the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City to ban picture-taking in the NYC subway system for security reasons. So don't think it's just LRTA being unreasonable.

And like I said, we need to practice our covert picture taking skills. I have already practiced taking pictures with my camera's remote control as it is hanging around my neck here in my house. If you like, I will show you the kinds of pictures I am taking using my remote control method. The guards will never know we're taking pictures if we're not holding our cameras up to our faces.

those sony cybershots that are really really small are really really useful:D

those sony cybershots that are really really small are really really useful:D
like the one i bought last week? the sony cybershot t1. :D

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/sony_t1/t1_front_blk.jpg

:D :cool:

looks thin. that thing has optical zoom? and how big is it compared to a palm of a hand?

hahaha...! sweeet! I was just fiddling with the same one my mom's friend has... really nice. just don't like sony's UI... find canon's a whole lot more user-friendly...

Its real small: the Panasonic SV-AS10 D-Snap Camera:

http://panasonic.jp/d-snap/img/as10.jpg

- 9.9mm thickness
- 2 Mega Pixel Digital Still Camera with Built-in Flash
- 4x Digital zoom
- Motion JPEG Video Camera
- Music Player - WMA/MP3/AAC
- Voice Recorder
- Image Sensor
- 1/3.2" , 2.11 total Megapixel CCD, Primary Colour Filter
- 2 Megapixels
- Shutter Speed 2-1/2,000 sec

it has a WMP/MP£/AAC player too.. so its the PERFECT cover on MRT2 ;);) LMAO "la la la *snap* la la la".. :D:D:
http://ascii24.com/news/specials/newpupil/2003/09/15/thumbnail/thumb320x427-images724056.jpg

Hahah if youre looking for Optical zoom, then the best digicam on the market at the moment has to be the Panasonic Lumix FZ1, which has an amazing 12x Optical Zoom!:

http://www6.plala.or.jp/k-yuasa/FZ1-S.jpg

looks thin. that thing has optical zoom? and how big is it compared to a palm of a hand?
it's actually pretty small. no bigger than a deck of cards. hahahaha. don't worry, if i do visit the phils, i'll use it to take pictures from the mrt/lrt lines. :D

the u.i.'s ok. just like with a lot of other stuff, it just needs getting use to. having owned a sony before helped. :D

sweet. :guns1:

but of course, for those who can't get pics inside the stations, pics from the outside isn't that bad either :)

yeah... especially of santolan station... it's not too crowded from ground level there. they even had space for that rock garden....! hehehe.... what does underground katipunan look like??

the LRTA site had some photos, though they looked horrible. it looks modern, though nothing fancy or such from those photos

http://www.geocities.com/eipangan/images/mrt_040601_01.txt

http://www.geocities.com/eipangan/images/mrt_040601_02.txt

http://www.geocities.com/eipangan/images/mrt_040601_03.txt

btw, until february this year, i was employed by that company. :cool:

That's a very bold wrap.

I think a company like Rexona or Ban or something should invade MRT instead. It would be a good placement of ads. Especially for straphangers in the crowded rush hour trains.

cool! i like how the train looks with the epson!

woww! MRTs starting to look very European
LOL the trams near to where i live do the same thing.. companies' advertise on the outside.. looks cool :D if i didnt kno better i'd think it was jus a pic of a train in the UK or the US! LMAO:D:D:crazy:

The station's platform is so shiny! Did someone polish it with a coconut husk? Ha..ha..ha! :lol:

The station's platform is so shiny! Did someone polish it with a coconut husk? Ha..ha..ha! :laugh:LMAO Thats so typically a pinoy thing! LMAO shining floors with coconut husk! LMAO.. they dont change the techniques even in official buildings u kno :D:laugh:

Sweet....i love the Epson advertising!! Its cute.

More trains should be wrapped in advertising...the colgate (or was it close-up?) and epson trains look great.

yeah..it adds colors to the dull looking surroundings where the trains run!

it sure does put color into the life of the MRT-3... hehehe.... the MRT-3's stations are just plain ugly....

i like the epson covering.

boybaha: rexona has an ad in the mrt. i dunno if it still does have some but it used to. and the ad was some guy standing on the mrt discreetly smelling his armpit. the caption was 'tawas check ka no?' hehe. that was really funny.

and here's a photo of the boring mrt 3 captured in an exciting way

http://www.imagesphilippines.com/images/071603_143512.jpg

i like the epson covering.

boybaha: rexona has an ad in the mrt. i dunno if it still does have some but it used to. and the ad was some guy standing on the mrt discreetly smelling his armpit. the caption was 'tawas check ka no?' hehe. that was really funny.

yes, that was really funny. but I like the previous one, the girl...she's in the McDo (Karen po) commercial before...can't forget the reaction of her face on that ad. :hilarious:

:laugh:LMAO Thats so typically a pinoy thing! LMAO shining floors with coconut husk! LMAO.. they dont change the techniques even in official buildings u kno :D:laugh:

Why fix a good thing when it ain't broke? :) It makes me laugh just trying to imagine someone polishing the station platform with a coconut husk late into the night before the morning rush begins. But that shouldn't surprise me, living here, they vacuum the streets of downtown Orlando every night!

those MRT stations look like commuter trains here in Belgium. and those Epson trains look hella cool

I see those huge street sweepers in Filinvest regularly and I saw one of those along España about a month ago.

see! mrt isn't so bad after all. all it needs is a paint job and it can easily compete with commuter trains anywhere in the world. :D :cool:

*while bowing head down* yes, i guess you are right.....:D hehehe

But still, MRT 2 is much better. So future lines should be great, not just ok.

I think the rolling billboards are an eyesore actually. I'd rather they keep the ads inside the trains. I know they're an added revenue stream, but they make the trains look like they're prostitutes. It's a shame that what many people take to symbolize the advancements of Metro Manila are being made available to advertising in such a blatant way.... note: NYC subways, the pride of New York would never be wrapped as such. They sell every inch of adspace inside, but the exterior is very much the face of the city. It's like those "Hapee Toothpaste" sponsored street signs all over Manila.

LRTA would never allow their trains to be wrapped. I guess this is the price you get for having private sector-funded mass transit systems like the MRT3.

as with a lot of other things, some people like it some people don't. i'm leaning towards liking it though. it kinda means "we're in business". :cool:

as with a lot of other things, some people like it some people don't. i'm leaning towards liking it though. it kinda means "we're in business". :cool:

You're not alone. I like it too... But i wouldnt want the MRT 2 trains to be wrapped in advertising, for some reason.

You're not alone. I like it too... But i wouldnt want the MRT 2 trains to be wrapped in advertising, for some reason.

yeah... exactly. I'd hate to have ads wrapped up all over the megatren.... the design looks pretty cool right now... and the grey makes it look quite modern... ads on bangkok's bts skytrains made their trains look much worse than they used to with the original blue/red streak design. the stations look ok with them, but the ones on the trains just make everything look so cluttered and messy.

I think the rolling billboards are an eyesore actually. I'd rather they keep the ads inside the trains. I know they're an added revenue stream, but they make the trains look like they're prostitutes. It's a shame that what many people take to symbolize the advancements of Metro Manila are being made available to advertising in such a blatant way.... note: NYC subways, the pride of New York would never be wrapped as such. They sell every inch of adspace inside, but the exterior is very much the face of the city. It's like those "Hapee Toothpaste" sponsored street signs all over Manila.

LRTA would never allow their trains to be wrapped. I guess this is the price you get for having private sector-funded mass transit systems like the MRT3.
well LRT line 1 is covered with ads too

I could Not agree more that wrapping up the rollings stocks is NOT a good idea. However, the BTSC has managed to come up with a good ad (Unseen in Thailand for a good example) However, the SRT (State Railway of Thailand) has come up with very SHODDY results when they wrap the ad on the railway bogey - especialy the airconditioned ones .... That's really PISS virtually all people ....

So LRT1 trains are wrapped now too? What a shame.

The reason why I don't like them is I think that 1) Ads are pervasive enough anyway. How many times have you tried to click away a pop up (if you don't use a blocker) and also how many times do hit delete when you receive a spam? They are intrusive and are intrusive enough with TV commercials. I don't want to look everywhere and see an advertisement. People are already walking bilboards with their Nike T-shirts and so on and so forth. 2) Trains when done correctly look so sleek without the ads. Look at how megatren looks so pretty. I'm sure with the right paint job, MRT3 and LRT1 would look sleek as well. 3) Government services should not have advertising on them. Government can contract out to private firms, but you don't want "Philippines: Brought to you by Sony."

Off the soap box.

This post was brougth to you by Levi's. Ang jeans na mabango.

well i don't think these ads will be permanently. a flavor of the month.. if it does last for long, it will have a bad effect on the commuters in seeing the same old advertisement over and over again

This post was brougth to you by Levi's. Ang jeans na mabango.

hahahaha....!!!! I think the LRT-1 ads came out before the ones on the Metrostar... not too sure though.

@ boybaha - well thats the corporate world. They have to advertise constantly to gain over their competitors. And other companies are looking for ads as an income. We cant really do anything about it. Heck, my family is always trying to advertise Grill55 in someway, so i understand the importance of advertising.

Yes, that's the corporate world. I worked for an advertising agency in my pre-grad school life so I know how the world of advertising works. (in fact it's one of those many things that made me turn to grad school, along with my stint as a computer consultant) My sister also has been a non-traditional media planner for a big global ad agency so I know how the world of non-traditional media works. (she just quit after many years of working there... her reason: she cannot honestly and wholeheartedly work for an industry that is manipulating people and she is now working for non-governmental organizations)

But mass transit isn't the corporate world. Like I said, I have no problem with Epson advertising-- they can advertise all over the INSIDE of the trains. But I have a problem with LRTA and MRTC selling the face of Manila. These trains are the faces of the Metro's future. I understand that they need the revenues but it's like saying in a blatant way, "Philippine government, sponsored by Epson." How would you feel if buildings like the CCP and the National Museum were wrapped by ads? It's pretty much the same concept.

And also speaking as a consumer, I think people are being inundated with advertising already. These companies are not buying adspace. They're buying our attention. I just think there has to be a limit to where ads are located. It's about saying my mind is not sold to advertising.

to remain on-topic, are there any advertising inside the trains?

Was I off-topic? The topic was advertising on MRT and LRT so I was on-topic.

Yes... there's that one picture of someone holding the strap with the Epson brand. Again, this is acceptable because the advertising does not spill onto the public face of the train.

dont worry mike, i don't think this is permanent, or will last for a long time.

Tired of the LRT2 ban on photographs? Protest like these New Yorkers did! I say for the next SSC Pinoy Meet, you should all get together at an MRT station and start taking pictures... All of you. What will the sekyu do if they have not one but ten people taking pictures at the same time? You will outnumber them. :)

------

Ban on Subway Photography Prompts Underground Protest
By ALAN FEUER

Published: June 7, 2004, New York Times

At a protest by photographers, you see things like a guy taking pictures of a guy taking pictures of a few more guys taking pictures of one another.

There was such a protest yesterday, but it might take hundreds of pages to describe it, given all the pictures that were taken, each one worth at least a thousand words.

The photographers - about 100 of them - gathered to express their outrage at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposed ban on taking pictures in the subway system. Meeting at Grand Central Terminal, they rode the trains for upward of an hour, shutters clicking, flashes popping, in a filmed rebuke to the idea that photography is somehow a national security threat.

"The point is really to make everyday people wake up and realize that photographers are not terrorists," said Joe Anastasio, who organized the event. "In the last few years, photographers near anything vaguely important have been getting harassed."

Mr. Anastasio went on to tell the story of a friend who took his wife's picture near the Whitestone Bridge, only to be called in for questioning by the police. He told another of a man caught snapping pictures at a Metro-North station who was interrogated for nearly two hours by authorities at the scene.

"The paranoia," he said, "has gone a little too far."

The transit authority's proposal, posted on its Web site, says the agency is planning to adopt "a general prohibition against photography and videotaping in the system." The agency is soliciting public comment on the ban and plans to vote on the proposal in the next few months.

"It's a security measure," said a spokeswoman for the agency, Deirdre Parker. "It was suggested by the N.Y.P.D."

Mr. Anastasio and his fellow photographers said it was ridiculous that pictures of the subway might somehow make the trains unsafe. After all, they said, there are thousands of subway photographs already on the Internet.

"The subway is so well documented that what's the point?" asked Jean Miele, a fine art and commercial photographer. "This sort of thing makes us less free, not safer."

Infuriated that his photographic rights might in fact be curtailed, Mr. Anastasio sent messages to several friends, asking them to show up yesterday to photograph the subway. They did - with Nikons, Leicas, Canons and such. There were an $8,000 digital job and a cheap mini that showed a nudie picture through its viewfinder.

When a downtown No. 6 train arrived, the photographers began to cheer. They boarded in a herd and held their cameras up, taking pictures of other hands holding cameras up.

At the 14th Street station, they split into two groups, stood against the walls and photographed each other across a corridor. This had varying effects on the people passing by. One woman fixed her hair before she ran the gantlet; another covered her face.

One guy said to his buddy, "Hey, what's with all the paparazzi?"

His buddy said, "Dunno, I think it must be you."

There was a tense moment when the crowd decided it would photograph a transit police dispatch station at 14th Street. A startled officer came out and suggested that they leave.

"You didn't say 'Cheese!' " one of the cheekier photographers said.

When an L train finally arrived, they tried taking pictures of the motorman. He was not keen on this idea, however, and blocked his window with an advertising circular.

Many of the photographers said they planned to post their pictures on the Internet - Jared Skolnick, for example, who takes pictures of the subway on his cellphone and then displays them online.

"I've learned that so many crazy things can happen on the subway," said Mr. Skolnick, who paused and then added, "including this."

hmm... i think that advertisments on the MRT are ok....i looked nice... IMO.... I remember seeing something like this in Australia during the last Olympics... their monorails are covered fully as cokes, pepsis, 7ups... :D

Singapore MRT has a lot of trains that are wrapped in advertising. I remember this train fully wrapped in Calsberg advertising.

any news on blue line phase 2 construction? Looks like it's been shelved...

I think they're just waiting for the president to be proclaimed before starting it. Remember, there's a ban on government spending until a new administration is in place.

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/mani/manila.htm

i saw that they have demolished already the old ODEON cinema at corner of recto and rizal ave. i guess, they would transform it into an inter link mall just like metropoint

sana lang pag interlink mall like citylink sa Singapore City hall MRT, sana may space talaga where people could walk, hindi puro stalls.... ang laking abala eh. hirap maglakad when you are catching a transit train...

yeah. ang pangit ng metropoint! just way too crowded, overly crowded escalators and practically no maintainance. hopefully, something nice will come up out of old thing. even if it was just to connect the two stations....

i saw that they have demolished already the old ODEON cinema at corner of recto and rizal ave. i guess, they would transform it into an inter link mall just like metropoint


cool news. i hope they do make a connection between lines 1 and 2. it's only logical that they do. :)

cool news. i hope they do make a connection between lines 1 and 2. it's only logical that they do. :)
oo nga it would be much convenient and safer to commuters so that they won't need to go down the dangerous sidewalks

dyologs ng walkway ng blue line and yellow line sa taft... parang hindi interchange station...

MRT moving along EDSA and the Shaw Central station...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid122/p5af0777cd463d2f52178ba9b4cb2815d/f82e5be9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid122/pe3f9497d5f1b584c0d77351b623c6516/f82e5b95.jpg

dyologs ng walkway ng blue line and yellow line sa taft... parang hindi interchange station...
better than nothing

why do we always settle for "better than nothing" when kaya naman better than someting.... like LRT2 Purple line... it's the best train we have.... walang wala MRT blue line.

http://www.inq7.net/brk/2004/jun/28/brkoth_11-1.htm

THOUSANDS of commuters were stranded after a cable of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) broke down between the Boni and Guadalupe stations and halted operations during rush hour Monday, an MRT official said.

"It looks like the cable just broke. We're investigating the incident," MRT vice president for operations Paul Daza said in a television interview.

Daza said MRT operations were halted from the Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong to the Taft Avenue station in Pasay City.

"We're trying to put it (line) back together. We'll be back in operation in a few hours," Daza said.

Daza said MRT trains are still running from Shaw Boulevard to the North Avenue station in Quezon City.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/FlashNewsStory.aspx?FlashOID=18281

Passengers of a north-bound MRT train were thrown in panic late Monday afternoon after an overhead power cable short-circuited and snapped, triggering an explosion.

DzMM reported that several coaches went on fire as a result of the electrical blast but all passengers were taken out of the train.

No injuries were reported as of posting time even as some passengers were seen jumping from the elevated tracks.

The incident happened as the train was approaching the Guadalupe station in Makati.
-----------

Tsk, tsk, tsk... poor maintenance? Glad that no one was hurt (hopefully since there are conflicting reports that a student was injured...) :no:

actually there was one lady hurt... it was in the news...

a cousin of mine is on board that MRT coach that experienced the blasts.... she saw the lady jumped out of the train when the doors opened...

anyways.. according to her account.. it occurred around 5pm.. she was going home... and she was on the last coach or that train...when the train reached Ayala... they already experienced a fluctuation.. they already heard something explode or something sparked but they still proceded.... and then on their track going to guadalupe...they heard another blast and the train went to a halt sparks fly inside the coach.. the lights exploded... and something went to fire.. which i think is the part of the train where the broken wire fell.... everyone went into panic... they were trying to open the emergency doors but they won't budge... until maybe it was opened... the lady jumped and each went out after... they walked from that area which is in front of the PET Plans Tower to Guadalupe station....

when I went home.. since no more MRT operation... I took the bus and saw the actual train... I saw the broken wire that hanged over the train.. and a portion of it had burns and the wire bore a whole to the train...

as of today.. operations are back to normal... :D

I would be nice if they had a system like the Bangkok skytrain.

MRT 2 Is actually a MRT more advanced than Bangkoks Skytrain

I would be nice if they had a system like the Bangkok skytrain.
is it true that tickets to ride the bangkok skytrain are expensive and it's not really for the masses?

yeah, that was indeed a sad experience. but as we already know, we're already used to bombing threats, so the fellows on board should have thought it was a bomb! now we live in dread...my relatives thought i was there. fortunately no. i don't take MRT from house to work, its only 15 minutes away anyway. im imagining the same thing happening with MRT 2. the tracks are relatively higher than MRT's.

is it true that tickets to ride the bangkok skytrain are expensive and it's not really for the masses?

when I got to ride on it sometime last may, tickets were priced from BHT5-40... which is around P7.50-60... it's measured by the number of stations, just like on our LRT and MRTs...

is it true that tickets to ride the bangkok skytrain are expensive and it's not really for the masses?

really?? :D then who rides the skytrain?? millionairs and rich tourists?? nah I been living in Bangkok for some years and the skytrain is surely for the masses and is not that expensive, 2-3 stations cost about 10 baht, that's not expensive at all OOHH yeah and today Bangkok's new modern subway will open ;)

Rico, Listen Up -> After BTSC introduce 30-day passes for regular passengers and 1-day pass (100 Baht) and 3-day pass (280 Baht) -> The number ot passenger has been shot up from merely 150000 passengers a day to currently 400000 passengers a day within a few years - Bangkokians have jammed packed into Skkytrain lie sardine cans! Hope that the extensions to Saomrong and Taksin Road - with additional sets of skytrain rollign stocks (especially 6-car type) will both doubling the number of passengers and increase more space.

When they run Skytrain during the new year eve to new year morning - the number of passenger has shot up to 470000 passengers and those passengers are beign pushed into sardine cans like Tokyo Subway and JR Yamanote Ring - Look at Chitlom station at the new year eve and you'll see.

Khun Rico

I have been into Subway in this evening - the Faithful evening that is the starting

point of BKK Subway System. At about 6 PM ... many people were storming Hua Lamphong as

well as Phra Ram 9 Station. I could see those people from thsoe kids to grannies -

couples - Farang, Chinese -> Storming Rama 9 Station ... Even the News Anchor from Asahi

TV alogn with camera crew and interpreter were heading into Subway Gate 1 of Phra Ram 9

Station

At 7:25 PM - the gates were opening and human waves were heading into the booths and to

buy 10-Baht smart tokens (imported from Japan at 80 Baht/piece) and 300-Baht Smart

cards. I bought Both of them. When the first train RELEASED by His Majesty was not

arrived yet, I ran to pick the wallet - one of the gift for the first 99999 passengers

in addition to the stationery.

Prha Ram 9 is the only other Station I know that ther is Subway TVM installed.

WHen the Subway released by His Majesty Arrived, I took a half of the roll on the

Japanese news anchors who interview the young passengers as well as a mother and a baby

inside the subway ...

When I arrived into Hua Lamphong, I was STUNTED on the shck waves of local people

storming Hua Lamphong .... It is even worse than Phra Ram 9 Station. BMCL and MRTA

Officers have to closed Gate 2 (the Gate of His Majesty) and Gate 3 (the gate with

pyramid in front of the gate) since many people are RAGING - closed to edge of insanity

when they are goign storm into Subway station - due to the long lines of passengers

Now, I could see the Golden plate sign at Gate 3 Showing the name of this Subway line in

addition to the golden plate shown inside Hua Lamphong station ... But I have to come

out of Gate 1 to buy a new roll of film and then have to walk on the stair of Gate 4 to

platform sinee Gate 4 has NO escalators.

For Lumphinee Station - It is very deep - even not as deep as Si Lom.

I could see the double tunnels for Orange line and the green liens to mark the tracks of

future Orange line next to the Belgian Drawing

Subway heading to Bangsue and Hua Lamphong are filled up with passenger into Sadine cane

level until it reaches 10 PM.

At one time I heard the young men told his frtiend that "Subway Rollign stocks is 2nd

handed left over from Siemens" -> Then I yell back to that young man "Where in the HELL

you get such kind of Rumour?"

I could see Indian, and muslim Bangkokians, Japanese businessmen, Chinese tourists and

Farang - and his girlfriends riging Subway in addition to those commonmen in

Bangkokkians. I could see passengers coming in and coming out of subway to the

platforms like sea waves at Major stations like Hua Lamphong, Queen Sirikit Center, Phra

Ram 9, Sukhumvit, Chatuchak Park ....

Kamphaen Phet station look very so so for me though ... even though now I could see the

billboard covering the space which will become Metro Plaza.

To Expand Subway Systems Skytrain System and High Speed Rail System, Premier
Thaksin BETTER tunr Millenium Steel or Sahaviriya Steel into Siamese version
POSCO and Nippon Steel and turn the automobile assembly lines into Subway assembly

lines.


It is very exhaused day for me ... You better wait unti I come up with the photos.

that MRT2 snap thing is normal. every line has to have problems. it can't be perfect, but good maintenance is the key to reducing accidents or stoppages

Rico, Listen Up
oh sorry. i just got that idea after reading this article...
http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.1511.html

A Skytrain ticket costs from ten to forty baht ($0.25 to $1.00 USD), depending on the distance traveled. Though foreign tourists may find this to be one of the best travel deals on offer in Asia, many Thais find the Skytrain prohibitively expensive. An unskilled worker earning 200 baht a day ($5.00 USD), for example, will stick to a no-frills city bus for 3.50 baht ($0.09 USD). The Skytrain can also cost more than the fancier air-con busses, and sometimes it even costs more than a taxi. People ride the Skytrain for its comfort and convenience rather than its price, and consequently it tends to attract a more affluent ridership of middle-class Thai commuters, foreign tourists, and expatriates.

LRTA: Rail system losing P1 M daily

Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) administrator Pacifico Fajardo bared to ABS-CBN's dzMM Saturday that the elevated railway system is losing P1 million a day.

Fajardo, a former congressman, said it will continue to lose the said amount unless it is allowed to jack-up its fare soon.

The LRTA is waiting a go ahead from Malacanang to increase its fare from the current P15 to P25. The new fare will cover a one-way trip from Monumento, Caloocan to Baclaran in Paranaque or vice-versa. The fare hike has already been endorsed by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

He said the P10 hike will be used to pay interest payments for the loans obtained to bankroll the construction of the system.

Fajardo, who guested at dzMM early Saturday night, noted that the last price movement was in December of 2003.

The LRTA administrator likewise appealed to the public to support their proposed fare increase.
dzMM/abs-cbnNEWS.com

sigh...

oh sorry. i just got that idea after reading this article...
http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.1511.html

Yeah at the beginning of the service the skytrain went kind of bad because it was still a big economic crisis in asia and everybody saved money as good as they could or they went by car, but now the economi is booming and the skytrain is full all the time now.

Thailand's train development is going fast forward now. Subway (going to extend it very soon),skytrain (the same as the subway), airport express (done in 2 years) high-speed train to other cities in Thailand ;).
The traffic will sure be less now.

hmm... i think a flat fare for all stations is a good idea. maybe 20 pesos all stations all stops anywhere.

flat fare? hmmm, I don't agree. peace :D

same here... this will limit the use of it specially for short distances... the MRT is basically built to lessen bus commuters... but if the prices are flat rated commuters would instead use the buses..

am just so sad... cause the blue line (mrt3) is so full... even on semi-rush hours... how can it handle more passengers? The coaches seem to be not efficiently maintained...

I'm sorry but a flat fare is totally unreasonable. And it would completely negate the use of the magnetic card system.

Just a question, how could a flat rate negate the use of magnetic cards?

i think it will negate the use of magnetic cards because it was designed to be used as fare by distance payment.... if flat rate, then tokens na lang. and it's unfair for those people who are riding the line end to end because they pay the same rate with people riding two stations apart dba?

hmmm...siguro kasi hindi na magiging ganun ka-useful ung mga machines since flatfare na nga...parang bumili ka na lan ng ticket sa moviehouse, guards na lang ang magche-check. ewan ko rin. :D

hehehe... being an IT person.. I don't think that making the mrt fare a flat rate would cause any problem to the tickets or the machines... since the magnetic card simply stores the fare information loaded to it and the machine simply deducts the necessary deduction, the machines can be reprogrammed.... I think that it would be easier for the machines if a flat fare is maintained 'coz it will just deduct an exact amount to any card that is inserted to it.... ;D

Of course a flat rate wouldn't cause any problems for the magnetic card system itself, and would in fact make it easier on the system. Negate doesn't mean "cause problems", it means "render irrelevant".

But like mhe-ann said, with a flat fare then there'd be no use for a computerized magnetic card system in the first place, it would be just like buying a plain old ticket or token. So all the money the government and the LRT/MRT companies spent on buying the computerized system would be wasted. It would be a huge step backward. If you only want to ride for two stations then there's no good reason for you to pay the same amount of money that someone who's riding for 10 stations pays, especially if there's already an expensive computerized sytem in place that your tax money and your ticket fare is paying for. It doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want to waste a perfectly good computerized system? It's like buying the latest Pentium 4 and only using it to play Solitaire. When I ride the MRT/LRT I usually only ride for 3-5 stations and I definitely wouldn't want to pay the same amount as those riding the entire stretch! Besides, even when the LRT still used tokens, the last 3 stations on either end were already cheaper to ride, so back then even without using computers, the LRT had its own primitive fare-by distance system, so you want us to be even more primitive than that?

In my opinion, the better thing to do is to go with what they're doing at the MRT2, and install more automated ticket vending machines.

hehehe... actually MRT has the automated ticket vending machines... but you see them only at the sides and not used....

I think 3 years ago when the MRT is still quite new... there are long lines for buying tickets while these vending machines are there... I remember going to the MRT site and sent some comments and suggestions.. I asked them why they didn't use the machines... well they responded to me through email and they said that they aren't able to use the machines because our coins are not fit for the machines so they can't be used... its sort of a waste to have bought does machines and it would be a faster means for ticketing...

LRT2 has a very nice system.. it follows the Singapore MRT system, where you only buy your tickets in the vending machines.... :D

a flat rate would cause more que lines for the now very congested LRT lines. since peoplle would pay the same amount for whatever length they would ride, naturally, people riding long distance of the line would be encourage to ride. in this way, majority of the riders would be those riding from end to end of the line. as the trains go forward, riders are added while no one would be exiting. this would create a big problem for those riding on the mid-stations cause they wont be able to ride. the trains would always be full at the middle stations of the train lines. actually, this is already happening now even with the calibarted rate. it would make it worse when they make it a flat rate!!!

one prob with mrt 3 is there was no provision for a full concourse level where they could sell tickets without impedeng traffic flow of people. A perfect example of this observation is at the blue line - taft station. The lines are so long and they block the turnstyles (tama ba spelling ;) ) where people pass through. Kakainis din yung may mga stored value kasi nga they are being blocked. Can't they move the turnstyles more inward since there is a huge space in the middle? or better yet, plan for an improvised floor for vending tickets. Grabe ang gulo kasi eh sobra. Tumutulo pa yung aircon. Parang puno ng dayami sa dumi....

A ride on LRT2... feels like riding Singapore's MRT...:D

Legarda Station
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/p9260c152d2554e5d7b9e46b6cfba3b19/f7dfb29f.jpg

the LRT
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pfb0143db77ddd655c415b7a7f2ca0935/f7dfb28d.jpg

view of MRT Cubao station and Farmers Plaza in Cubao..
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pb0ad5f4e68a14c6c748aa8170b6b6b18/f7dfb171.jpg

in the train
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pd2c8ef3fc5160c9e821df2c44ae81175/f7df31d4.jpg

Katipunan substation
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/p4e09ffc7c8d2fbcd40b206b207a594f5/f7dfb0ef.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pf1a74e1f859b0f76b1fb0db436450dd9/f7dfb091.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/p905df76b834733fdc4432b411ea90968/f7dfb05f.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/p5c55fb86c96a8083c138f8b355788d82/f7dfb0ce.jpg

the ticket booth
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/p5d7792c4d9347ac27a1732b3f95bc302/f7dfb099.jpg

Looks like that raised flooring for the visually impaired is similar to what the MRT Stations in Singapore have.

Looks like that raised flooring for the visually impaired is similar to what the MRT Stations in Singapore have.

I remember the LRT-1 had that too (it was orange)... seemed to have peeled-away as time gone by... :ohno:

nice shots!!! where were the guards? hehehe... I love the MRT-2 though... I'm just really hoping they can keep it well maintained.

looks nice thanks pau! hope the future plans of new LRT ot MRT would be as nice as LRT 2

there are guards in every station... but yeah.. I failed to notice that there is none in Katipunan station... but anyways... there are guards in the train... as you see in the picture below... that guy standing is a guard... and another one is on the next coach...:D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pd2c8ef3fc5160c9e821df2c44ae81175/f7df31d4.jpg

security guard at every coach? it's good that there some sort of security for the user though but tourists would be worried why there is a security guard...

Honestly though, are there really any tourists taking the MRT2? It's on a very un-touristy route mostly through Quezon City.

I don't there aren't... and if there is, they would be rare... LRT2 doesn't even get packed unlike the 2 other lines....

plus... there aren't even as many passengers riding that line...

I rode the MRT 2 again today.... This time from Legarda to Katipunan. I love this line...it really should have been on the EDSA route. Anyways, i saw a lot of gaurds in the Katipunan station.

When it finally gets completed all the way to Taft, I expect the ridership is going to increase exponentially. Much more so if it's extended to Divisoria. I don't plan to ride it again until October when the Recto terminal is done.

Honestly though, are there really any tourists taking the MRT2? It's on a very un-touristy route mostly through Quezon City.

maybe it has a good connection with the taft line... like another "makeshift" walkway.... hehe

the EDSA line is such a waste talaga. it really should've been something as good as this one. and it had to be one of the busiest as well. I'm just really, really, really hoping the next lines won't turn out like it...

GreyX, you're so lucky you get to go on it again! haha... I wanted to go on it again, the opposite direction (westward) before we left Manila, but I didn't have time... too bad... how is it now? do the stations and trains still look new and all?

anyway, I hope the interconnection at Recto won't be something as bad as the one between LRT-1 and MRT-3. when do you guys think it'll be done?? I want a jeep/taxi terminal at Recto... they can't just do it like on the Santolan staion where the jeeps stop right outside it cause it's so crowded in that part of manila already, unlike in marikina...

hmm... I don't know how would they inter-connect LRT2 and LRT1 in Recto 'coz the LRT1's Doroteo Jose station and the u/c LRT2's Recto station is quite apart... so most probably (I guess) passengers will still walk down the station to go to the next line... well unless maybe they have plans to create a walk through the New Bilibid area to the D. Jose station... 'coz as I remember if LRT4 pursues.. the New Bilibid will be converted to a docking area....

hmm... I don't know how would they inter-connect LRT2 and LRT1 in Recto 'coz the LRT1's Doroteo Jose station and the u/c LRT2's Recto station is quite apart... so most probably (I guess) passengers will still walk down the station to go to the next line... well unless maybe they have plans to create a walk through the New Bilibid area to the D. Jose station... 'coz as I remember if LRT4 pursues.. the New Bilibid will be converted to a docking area....

I thought somebody said they already tore down that building on the corner of the intersection? is that NBP? I thought it was a theatre...

domolished na nga...

Those pictures are great! I'm proud being a Filipino that an easier way of travelling and commuting has finally been made. Hopefully there'll be more of those especially in the farther areas. Kawawa naman yung mga jeep, taxi, at FX. lol

Here are some pictures:

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/mani/manila-mrt2-1.jpg
http://www.urbanrail.net/as/mani/manila-mrt2-2.jpg

nice pics. :)

yeah nice photos, LRT 2 looks really good! very well designed

in that last picture, people might actually mistake it for a monorail. if they accidentally open those doors, people might fall and get hurt. oops.

OT: look at how many people are taking the MRT!! is that the megatren or is it Yellow/Blue?? I'd be surprised to find out it was MRT-2... never seen that many passengers on it yet...

http://www.lrta.gov.ph/news_image00.jpg

btw, the UAAP logo is there because it was on an article on lrta.gov.ph about how UAAP fans could take the MRT to get to Araneta...

actually the way the elevated lines are built, they look like monorails, with overheads.

anyways, it doesnt matter if lines 1 and 2 are far away. some of London and Madrid's connecting lines are far away. but a long direct connection beats a short excursion into Manila's streets

MRT-7 likely to get credit guarantee--project proponent
Posted: 10:56 AM | Aug. 02, 2004

Clarissa S. Batino
Inquirer News Service

THE WORLD Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. have agreed in principle to extend a credit guarantee to the planned MRT-7 railway project, according to the project proponent.

MRT-7 railway will run from Marilao in Bulacan to Quezon Ave.(Edsa), Quezon City.

Universal LRT Corp. chair Roberto de Ocampo said 75 percent of the project cost would have to be financed with loans and the remaining 25 percent with shareholders' equity.

De Ocampo noted that the government would not be asked to provide any subsidy or guarantee to the project, which should make it easier for the authorities to fast-track the approval of the consortium's unsolicited offer to take on the project.

"The Opic and the Miga (a World Bank unit) are both ready to provide guarantees. Opic may cover private sector risks, while Miga may cover the political risks," said De Ocampo in an interview.

A political risk credit guarantee will help Universal LRT Corp., the group that offered to undertake the MRT-7 project, secure reasonably-priced funding despite risks in the domestic market.

He said the consortium was preparing documents to obtain a final first-pass approval from the Investment Coordination Committee. After this, the government will open the unsolicited project proposal to a Swiss challenge to allow other interested parties to top the offer of Universal LRT Corp.

"We should be able to complete the two steps between now and September. If all things fall into place, we would move toward the financial completion. The actual ground breaking could happen in late 2005," said the former finance secretary.

A first-pass approval is the government's confirmation that the project is important and necessary. The go-ahead is required before the group can start convincing creditors to finance the project.

He said the group would like to complete the fundraising within 12 months.

De Ocampo, who is also the president of Asian Institute of Management, said the transport department had clarified to the ICC that MRT-7 would not conflict with any other railway project.

There were fears that the line would overlap with MRT-4 or the planned railway from Manila to Novaliches.

Universal LRT Corp. is led by EL International Holdings, a member of the EL Group of Companies of Hong Kong. Other members include Yuchencgo-owned EEI Corp., TCGI Engineers, Tyco-subsidiary Eart Tech and Alstom Phils.

US-based Tyco is the largest manufacturer of electrical and electronic components and Frech firm Alstom is an infrastructure giant.
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I am praying everything pushes through smoothly and on time. they could finish this thing up by 2007 or 2008. I wonder if they've already cleared up Right of Way conflicts. when does this part usually come into play?

thanks for the Article Lance.
ive read the summary yesterday, but havent read the whole thing. too lazy to read the hard prints or the INQ7 site.

wow... that would be nice.... I hope that MRT4 would also push through.....

De Ocampo, who is also the president of Asian Institute of Management, said the transport department had clarified to the ICC that MRT-7 would not conflict with any other railway project.

There were fears that the line would overlap with MRT-4 or the planned railway from Manila to Novaliches.

i'm confused... which line would be passing by the fairview-novaliches area?!
from my understanding...

MRT-7 will be the line from SM North to SM Fairview to Caloocan to Bulacan which was the reason why SM Fairview recently opened an Annex building

and MRT-4 would be the line from MRT-QAve to españa to Recto

am i right?

as far as i know... MRT4 will run from New Bilibid Station in Lerma via España then Quezon Ave then to West Ave and North Ave and to CommonWealth Ave and ending in Quirino Hiway in Novaliches... as it appears in proposed maps on board the MRT3...

MRT7 is something that confuses me too...I don't know how it will connect or where it will run..

MRT4 is suppposed to be extended by MRT8 ata to continue it upto Sta Maria, Bulacan....

as far as i know... MRT4 will run from New Bilibid Station in Lerma via España then Quezon Ave then to West Ave and North Ave and to CommonWealth Ave and ending in Quirino Hiway in Novaliches... as it appears in proposed maps on board the MRT3...

MRT7 is something that confuses me too...I don't know how it will connect or where it will run..

MRT4 is suppposed to be extended by MRT8 ata to continue it upto Sta Maria, Bulacan....

ang gulo no?! kase i have an uncle who worked at SM... he said na may line na SM would finance kaya they expanded the SM mall in Fairview in prep for the MRT line... which made sense... in an earlier article (na nand2 sa rin sa thread na to) it said na MRT 7 would run up to Tala now i read it would run up to Marilao which is like located opposite sides of one map. :bash:


NEDA body approves MRT Line 7

By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 03/29/2004

"....When completed, MRT7 would run along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City up to Tala in Caloocan City, and the adjoining municipality of San Jose del Monte in Bulacan....

....MRT7 would likewise involve the construction of a bus-rail transfer hub to be located at the Tala Caloocan-North, connecting the line to the North Luzon Expressway by a private highway. It would also connect to Light Railway Transit Line 1 and 2 through the MRT7’s elevated railway transit system....

....When approved, the project would extend the Mass Rail Transit line all the way to Bulacan. It will be undertaken by the consortium Universal LRT Corp...."

heheh...contradicting... unless... that line in Tala will connect to that line in Marilao...

Are there any plans for a southern Metro LRT/MRT line? Why it seem concentrated lang yung plans sa East / North / West ng Metro Manila , notably sa QC at Manila at nag criss-cross na nga yung three existing LRT lines dun.
Yung plan to convert the PNR lines going to south metro to an LRT line matutuloy ba yun , kasi parang walang pag asa . Pero maganda yung plano na iyon , kasi may existing line na dun sa PNR tracks . Also , para mag spur ng development sa Laguna province too if it will be from Manila - Calamba

dati I remember that they have a plan to extend LRT1 upto Cavite... I'm not sure kung kamusta na un...

the MRT-4 is the one that runs from Recto in Manila up to Novaliches. MRT-7 runs from North Ave, QC to Marilao in Bulacan. SM Fairview is in Novaliches, right? So MRT-4 will probably run up and connect there. MRT-7 will start somewhere near SM North EDSA at the North Triangle Mall and will end near the NLEX.

like pau_p1 said, there are plans of extending the LRT-1 into Cavite. The extensions is meant to be LRT-6.

hmmm... so would it be possible that MRT7 would be the same MRT line that is said to traverse Quirino Hiway in Novaliches?..... so maybe it would start at NOrth Ave running along Mindanao Ave then left to Quirino Hiway until it reaches NLEX then to Marilao or something...

no..MRT 7 will be the one that will run along Commonwealth ave, will have its stations at SM Fairview and SM Marilao. MRT 4 tho, will run parallel to it.

are you sure?... it will parallel?.. strange... or would it run along Quirino Hiway from SM Fairview all the way upto SM Marilao crossing the NLEX.... coz it would be a waste to have two lines on the same artery...

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/mani/manila.htm

from UrbanRail.Net

MRT 4 is a 22.6km (20 stations) mostly elevated line running northeast from Doroteo José/Recto in Manila to Quirino Highway in Novaliches (Quezon City) connecting with North Ave. Stn. on line 3 and passing through España, Quezon, Commonwealth and Regalado Avenues. The project will be divided into two phases: the Old Bilibid-Batasan section (15.1km) and the Batasan-Quirino Highway in Lagro (7.5km). 36 light rail vehicles are proposed to operate, providing a capacity of 550,000 passengers per day.

- MRT 7 is planned on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City up to Tala in Caloocan City, and the adjoining municipality of San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
- MRT 8, or East Line, will traverse 48 km with several tunnel sections (7.8 km) from Pililla to Santa Cruz, Laguna. Phase 1 will run for 16.8 km on elevated double-track guideways from Santa Mesa, Manila, to Taytay, Rizal; then from Taytay to Angono, Rizal, serving to decongest Manila, Mandaluyong and Pasig, and the towns of Cainta, Taytay and Angono. It will follow the general alignment of Shaw Boulevard and Ortigas Avenue and entail construction of 14 stations.

********************
This would appear that MRT7 would just connect to the MRT4 to continue through Bulacan... I live in North Caloocan and often pass SM Fairview... There is no other road to connect to Tala from Commonwealth Ave except by Regalado Ave cor Quirino Hiway (beside SM Fview).. or through Zabarte Road cor Quirino Hiway going straight to North Caloocan....

SO, will they be perpendicular? :D
im not so good on roads and streets of QC and Manila.

Maybe... :D but it would be nice to see lines in Novaliches.... Novaliches, Fairview, and North Caloocan are very big residential districts of the Metro and we need a quicker means of transpo....

maybe construction will start 2010. :)

European company gives more inputs on Batasan-Philcoa line
By PAUL ATIENZA
TODAY Correspondent

The Europe-based MRT 4 consortium has submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) additional information on the 5.8 km Batasan-Philcoa line.

Maritess Tuazon, manager for special projects of Javlon International, said on Wednesday that the documents were endorsed to Neda on June 23, after Neda raised several concerns on the proposal.

“With this latest development, the issue of alignment conflict with the proposed MRT 7 with which it has an overlap of about 5.8 km resurfaces,” Tuazon said.

MRT 4 encountered conflict after the MRT 7 also submitted a proposal with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in 2001 that caused delays in the Neda’s approval of the project.

The MRT 4 consortium submitted to the DOTC in May 2002 the Neda requirement for second pass approval of the project.

In January 1998, the MRT 4 project was granted its first pass approval by the Neda-ICC, while the MRT 7 proposal was granted partial first approval in January 2004.

“The MRT 4 unsolicited proposal was submitted to DOTC in 1995, while the MRT 7 unsolicited proposal was submitted in 2001,” Tuazon said.

The first pass approval granted by Neda-ICC on January 27, 1998, involves the initial phase of the project from Quiapo to Batasan in Quezon City.

The approval acknowledged the MRT 4 consortium as original proponent, which has submitted the unsolicited proposal in 1995 to the DOTC for the design and construction of 22.6 km mass transit line with 24 stations.

Under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, an unsolicited proposal should be subjected to price test or Swiss challenge from other interested private-sector groups with the original proponent having the right to match the best bid.

The DOTC’s endorsement of the submitted requirements for second pass approval should pave the way for processes toward the conduct of the price test.

The first phase of the MRT line 4 project involves the development of a 15 km fully elevated mass transit system that will run on double-track guideway running from the Old Bilibid Prison in Quiapo to Batasan Road.

“It will serve the densest area of Quezon City and the City of Manila from Old Bilibid compound connecting Doroteo Jose Station of LRT line to Batasan Road, passing through España, Quezon and Commonwealth avenues,” Tuazon said.

There will be 14 stations, including two terminals. The system will be designed for an initial ridership of 340,000 per day in opening year in 2008 and is expected to rise up to 566,500 passengers per day by year 2021.The project with a total Neda approved cost of $960 million in 1998, is highly competitive at $63.8 million per km in comparison with the other LRT projects in Metro Manila. There will be pedestrian concourses, escalators and elevators at the stations, adopting a metro system that has reduced noise emission and the latest technology and standards.

Unlike that for the Edsa MRT, full market risk should be shouldered by the private sector. The implementation scheme is a combined build-transfer (BT) and BOT. The BT part represents the permanent way that will be constructed by the consortium and handed over to the government upon completion.

The debt-service obligation should be transferred to the DOTC that will exact track access fee payments from the consortium for the use of the structure and the right to operate the system. The BOT part represents the rolling stock should be the responsibility of the consortium that will raise the required equity and loans for its financing.
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why don't they just let this go and give this Batasan-Philcoa (phase 2 of the project, I believe) to MRT-7? they can do it up to Batasan, QC from Recto, Manila and then MRT-7 can handle the second phase since it is included in its route anyways. btw, who are behind the MRT-4 and MRT-7? who was behind Megatren? I would love to see another MRT project from them. I would absolutely hate new construction from those behind MRT-3 though...

yeah I hope they both push through...:D

Guys I complained of the dark stations due to busted lights of the old yellow line. This is their reply :


Dear Mr. Bautista,

This refers to the email message regarding the replacement of busted lights
in the Line 1 revenue stations. The Engineering Services Division are
waiting for the General Services Division to procure our request of 4000
pieces fluorescent lamps. Once delivered rest assured that we will replace
all busted lights in the revenue stations. Meanwhile, our Materials Planning
Section will make a follow-up regarding the procurement of said item.

We extend our appreciation for your effort in bringing to our attention of
your concern. We let you know that out office is always open to comments and
suggestions from the passengers as this will help us in further improving
our services.


Light Rail Transit Authority
LRTA Compound, Aurora Boulevard,
Pasay City, Philippines

from what country yung euro consortium na yon?

hei, i dont mean to offend anyone, pero di ko maiwasang matawa minsan, coz i think hanggang drawing board lang yung kaya nating gawin, but to make them into actual, mukhang mahirap. :-<

sorry.....

Arroyo pushes extension of MRT-3 line to Monumento

Updated 10:38am (Mla time) Aug 06, 2004
By Gil Cabacungan
Inquirer News Service

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the departments of justice and of transportation and communication to iron out the legal kinks impeding the construction of a railway extension connecting the North Edsa station of the Edsa Mass Rail Transit-3 with the Monumento station of Light Railway Transit 1.
Ret. Gen. Roberto Lastimoso, general manager of MRT-3, said the President had made the completion of the MRT extension one of her priority projects in the next six years.

Lastimoso said the President gave the order following an appeal from residents of northern Metro Manila, specifically Kalookan City, which she visited Wednesday in her Pulong ng Bayan, to fast-track the MRT-3 extension to ease their transport needs.

The link-up of MRT-3 with LRT-1 is expected to nearly double ridership at the MRT-3 currently pegged at 350,000 passengers daily.

The President had given the go-ahead for the construction of the 5.12-kilometer extension of MRT 3 worth $213.99 million more than two years ago. The President said the extension would complete the rail transit loop in Metro Manila.

Lastimoso said officials of the DOJ and DOTC met Tuesday to implement the President's marching order to put the MRT extension in motion.

He said the key issue to be resolved was whether the private Edsa MRT Corp.-builder of MRT 3-should undertake the project or whether it should be up for public bidding.

Edsa MRT claimed that it owned the right to build the extension based on a supplemental agreement it signed with the DOTC in 1999.

The DOJ, however, has ruled that the supplemental agreement had already lapsed and the project should be scheduled for re-bidding. The DOTC, on the other hand, insisted that the project would be up for a Swiss challenge wherein other private groups could still come forward to make an offer but Edsa MRT Corp. would retain the right to match any new bid.

I was just about to post that article. haha...! GMA has seemed to be extremely determined in reviving the country since she won her bid to another six years at the top post. in the last week alone I've come across over 10 articles pertaining to the follow up of various rail transit projects and other vital infrastructure. I hope I am reading her correctly this time. I've always believed in the capacity of GMA, but she never had the determination to fuel her drive. I just hope these are the true new colors she's going to be sporting over the next 6 years. luckily, the rest of our govt officials will follow suit...

btw, I checked out LRTA.gov.ph and went on the Invitation to Bid section and I saw an item called "Various Light Fixtures" up for bid. I wonder if those are the 4000 new bulbs their ordering up. LRTA has gotten to become one of the most transparent govt agencies over the past months... I love all of them (at least the waged employees) over there!! oh yeah....

LRT 2, Victory Liner are PWD-Friendly: PAVIC
Ref.: Anna Ferrer / Mariecar Jara-Puyod
6473452 / 6473491 local 29846 / 8540984
LRTA.gov.ph | August 2, 2004


An organization working for the blind and visually-impaired acknowledged two handicap-friendly transportation establishments in observance of the National White Cane Day on Sunday.

White Cane Day is held on August 1 in celebration of the independence of the blind from their handicap through the use of a folded metal white cane, and as a special day to remind the public about the needed concern for this special people.

The two establishments awarded by the Parent Advocates for Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC) were the Light Rail Transit Authority - Line 2 / Purple Line and Victory Liner.

PAVIC is a non-stock, non-profit organization formed in 1999 as a support system to children, who are either blind or suffering from low vision, and their families. On its registry are 120 children, between two years old and 13 years old, who have been or have become blind due to cataract, glaucoma, optic nerve hypoplasia, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoblastoma and retinopathy of prematurity. Among its several projects was the publication of Braille self-study books and peg boards.

In a letter e-mailed to the Public Relations Office of LRT 2, PAVIC, through Linda Choy, one of the executive committee members and wife of PAVIC president Francis Choy wrote: "We find the facilities of LRT 2 very friendly to the disabled, and we like to give due recognition for your efforts."

Mrs. Choy was referring to the glass elevators with Braille buttons meant not only for the visually impaired but for other persons with disabilities as well as pregnant women and senior citizens and the Lego-like pathfinding tactiles which are salient in all the 11 stations of the mass rail system from Pasig City, Quezon City, San Juan and Manila.

Incidentally, all Purple Line stations also have wheelchair ramps and all its 18 South Korean trains have designated open spaces for the wheelchair-bound.

"We have noted the elevators especially designated for disabled persons, the embossed flooring leading a blind to the elevator and to the boarding platform (pathfinding tactiles), Braille elevator buttons. All these features make the travel of a disabled person easier," she also said.

Futhermore, Choy cited the friendliness of the LRT 2 Station Operations Division personnel and the accommodation they accord to PWDs.

Meanwhile, LRTA Administrator Pacifico Fajardo gave the assurance that the daily reminders on customer relations, especially to the PWDs will continue.

Bestowing the award to the Purple Line and to Victory Liner for the efforts of the bus company to reserve the front rows to persons with disabilities, Choy said: "We believe it is very important that your concern for the disabled be brought to the public so as to encourage other transport systems to do the same."

LRT 2 Public Relations Chief Mariecar Jara-Puyod received the award on behalf of management which was presented in the awarding ceremonies held at Shangri-la Plaza.

Fajardo was in South Korea for an official business.
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good job to everyone behind the LRTA. I love how the stations have such nice elevators everywhere. I'm sure all those with disabilities are loving the Megatren. big improvement to their quality of life. hope future projects can match up with this one...

well.. I didn't vote for Gloria but one of the things that I see as her great projects is the improvement of our transportation... and yeah I hope she has the fuel and enought political will to pursue this... and not just make this a show off to report on her first 100 days in office....

Do not quote me because im not sure if this is correct...but i think the ppl behind MRT 2 (megatren) is LRTA and they are also the ones behind MRT 4. I think MRT 7 is being developed by the ppl behind MRT 3.

Do not quote me because im not sure if this is correct...but i think the ppl behind MRT 2 (megatren) is LRTA and they are also the ones behind MRT 4. I think MRT 7 is being developed by the ppl behind MRT 3.

oh... i see... hey greyx, you're back! where've you been off to for so long? haha...

the EDSA line is such a waste talaga. it really should've been something as good as this one. and it had to be one of the busiest as well. I'm just really, really, really hoping the next lines won't turn out like it...

GreyX, you're so lucky you get to go on it again! haha... I wanted to go on it again, the opposite direction (westward) before we left Manila, but I didn't have time... too bad... how is it now? do the stations and trains still look new and all?

anyway, I hope the interconnection at Recto won't be something as bad as the one between LRT-1 and MRT-3. when do you guys think it'll be done?? I want a jeep/taxi terminal at Recto... they can't just do it like on the Santolan staion where the jeeps stop right outside it cause it's so crowded in that part of manila already, unlike in marikina...

Yes, the line 2 still looks great. maintenance seems to be doing very well. I think the connection to LRT 1 in recto is gonna be pretty good, because they are taking extra time to do it. In the MRT 3 - LRT 1 connection, they just built it after MRT 3 was done. I also have a feeling that the reason to why the Recto MRT 2 station is taking a long time is because they are also preparing for a MRT 4 connection with LRT 1 and MRT 2 in the same spot.

Yes, the line 2 still looks great. maintence seems to be doing very well. I think the connection to LRT 1 in recto is gonna be pretty good, because they are taking extra time to do it. In the MRT 3 - LRT 1 connection, they just built it after MRT 3 was done. I also have a feeling that the reason to why the Recto MRT 2 station is taking a long time is because they are also preparing for a MRT 4 connection with LRT 1 and MRT 2 in the same spot.

yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I hope that the Recto Terminal will have jeepney stops and car parking spots that won't create massive jams along the area. then they won't need the barkers scattered all over what ever it is that's going to connect it to line 1. the one and only time I got to go on MRT-3 and LRT-1, I saw so many of them crowding the Metro Point Mall (?) getting commuters onto their jeeps...

oh... i see... hey greyx, you're back! where've you been off to for so long? haha...

I have been on vacation in Canada (Vancouver), USA (Seattle) and Metro Manila for a little over a month.

just this morning i've pass by the old odeon mall, and i saw that they have completely delomished it.....a possible connection between line 1 and 2

cool! I wonder what they're gonna put up there. and wether or not it is gonna be owned and operated by a private company or the LRTA itself...

so what line is actually being constructed or started to be constructed?

here's something from the good news bad news thread.

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) System is under the Railway Infrastructure Development program, which is the most familiar to commuters in the metropolis. Among the targets of the program is the completion of the LRT 2 (2004), the implementation of the LRT 1 Capacity Expansion Phase II (2002-2006), the construction of LRT 1 South Extension (2005-2008), the construction of the LRT 2 Masinag Extension (2006-2008), the construction of the LRT 3 Phase II project (2005-2007), the LRT 7 and 8 (2006-2009).


so according to DOTC's plan, we would have 8 LRT/MRT lines by the end of GMA's term at 2010

almost got late last time....grabe sobrang packed ang MRt pag rush hour.. tinutulak na ako pero ayaw pa rin

yeah. ayaw pa rin nilang gawing 4-car trains yung blue line. tinitipid eh super siksikan na nga yung tao.

so what line is actually being constructed or started to be constructed?

aside from recto purple line station, all else is just talk and talk and talk and rebidding and rebidding and rebidding and delay and delay and delay. :bash:

aside from recto purple line station, all else is just talk and talk and talk and rebidding and rebidding and rebidding and delay and delay and delay. :bash:

yup yup yup. They should really be starting the other lines by now, to keep in schedule (even then, its already delayed).

Yeah, the MRT 3 should have 4 cars...it gets really packed. A lot of the cars have advertising wrapped around it now.

yup yup yup. They should really be starting the other lines by now, to keep in schedule (even then, its already delayed).

Yeah, the MRT 3 should have 4 cars...it gets really packed. A lot of the cars have advertising wrapped around it now.

advertising seem to provide the MRTs and LRTs added revenues... imagine... each coach wrapped in ads costs no less than P80,000 per month... even simple ads place on the stations columns costs no less tha P10,000 per column... even ads placed outside the rails costs P1000+ per lightpost

...wala pa kong nakikitang Ads sa LRT2...

...once you've ridden the Megatren.... you woudn't wanna ride the MRT 3 and LRT 1 again... the sations were well planed, it looks more safer, and purple-yellow-white colors look better that beige-red-blue... ang dami mong irereklamo sa MRT-3 after megatren!

hmm i can imagine the line that would be put up on commonwealth... it would feature very spacious stations kase super lapad ng commonweath. kaso baka nila tipirin kase mahal magpaganda ng super spacious stations.

Yeah, I just love LRTII. The trains are very spacious and the ride is so smooth, it feels just like the trains are floating on air, unlike MRT which is quite noisy.

yeah... the Megatren rocks!! MRT-3 just sucks. I can forgive the LRT-1 for its age though...

here's something from the good news bad news thread.

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) System is under the Railway Infrastructure Development program, which is the most familiar to commuters in the metropolis. Among the targets of the program is the completion of the LRT 2 (2004), the implementation of the LRT 1 Capacity Expansion Phase II (2002-2006), the construction of LRT 1 South Extension (2005-2008), the construction of the LRT 2 Masinag Extension (2006-2008), the construction of the LRT 3 Phase II project (2005-2007), the LRT 7 and 8 (2006-2009).


so according to DOTC's plan, we would have 8 LRT/MRT lines by the end of GMA's term at 2010

I hope all these projects are actually done on time. or at least started before the targeted completion date. hehe...! but no kidding. LRT-2 seems very well on track. MRT-3 Phase II should be started by early next year - with all of GMA's nagging (I just don't see why it would take the same time it took Phase I to complete Phase II, around only 1/3 the length). MRT-7 and MRT-8 will hopefully start 2006 after putting in place the gov't approvals and loans and stuff. hopefully, issues conflicting MRT-4 and MRT-7 routes are settled. oh yeah, what's happening to MRT-4?

oh yeah, last time I heard Mayor atienze does not want line 4 elevated... he wants it to be a subway.... nakaaksira daw ng view and stuff.

yah, ewan ko ba, even the lrt1 was originaly planed to be a subway pero dahil sa tinipid, ginawang elevated, so all the businesses along taft & avenida rizal got crippled, pati ung 'view' pumangit din. i dont seem to agree tho bout the opinions of some engineers that subway isnt suitable here, coz if u look at bangkok, they have managed to build a subway in spite of the fact that bangkok is criss-crossed w/ canals. & while they now have a subway line, we still hav to contend w/ d antiquated jeepneys! duh! & even upto now, we stil hav no idea, at all, as to how malabon & navotas can be spared from the annual floods. what indeed, is terribly wrong with us?---> sounds rhetoric eh...

put dams in manila bay. simple as that. no more flooding :D

oh yeah, last time I heard Mayor atienze does not want line 4 elevated... he wants it to be a subway.... nakaaksira daw ng view and stuff.

Yeah i heard about that. I think that is why it has been delayed further as some want it elevated while others want it underground. Despite flooding in Espana, i really think they can make it a subway.

guys, LRTA sent me a survey from (excel sheet). Maybe because I always made reklamo to them via email. PM me your email address so i can forward it to you and please do send it to them. Most of my ratings were fair and poor hehe

My email is in my profile;)

it would also be viable to turn southrail into a subway, since all they have to do is cut-and-cover. if southrail ever becomes a commuter line, then it would have to be either elevated or turned into a subway. Otherwise, there would be no more right turns from SLEX.

yes, send me as well - franciss_19@yahoo.com
thanks!

i personally wouldn't want a subway system for metro manila. subways i think do not match our temperature. subways are hot and gloomy inside unless properly maintained and properly airconditioned (very expensive).

these overhead rails can actually look good when designed properly.

yeah... I have to agree with rico. I mean, our MRT tracks are all too boxy, cubed and dirty. especially the MRT-3. it's all so plain and square and bland. plus they don't repaint the cement every few years so they turn all black and grey and become an eyesore. overhead light rails don't have to be like that. the Megatren structures are a bit of an improvement but there still could have been more curves and stuff that would've made them look more appealing. I like the way the painted a dark gray color (to make it seem like it was still cement) on some of the pillars/posts to cover up the dirty look of unfinished cement on the MRT-2. looks much much better and cleaner.

i personally wouldn't want a subway system for metro manila. subways i think do not match our temperature. subways are hot and gloomy inside unless properly maintained and properly airconditioned (very expensive).

these overhead rails can actually look good when designed properly.

katipunan station is an underground station, and it has some degree of air-conditioning :) If all the subway stations were like that, then we'd have a spankin' good line

katipunan station is an underground station, and it has some degree of air-conditioning :) If all the subway stations were like that, then we'd have a spankin' good line
i guess they didn't have much of a choice in katipunan because of the katipunan flyover. :D

i guess they didn't have much of a choice in katipunan because of the katipunan flyover. :D

haha... cool! so there's a tunnel for the MRT and then right after it a tunnel that feeds into the fly-over. or something like that... hehe!

the overhead stations don't really seem to need air conditioning. the temperature was fine when I took it in the middle of summer in May. the only reason I was sweating was probably cuz of the "running" from SM Centerpoint to the V. Mapa (?) station. haha.. was too excited! lol!! but the train doors being opened for 30 seconds at each stop made the inside of the trains warm. waste of a/c. haha! I hope more people are riding it now that they don't have to stop that long at every station...

i believe the purple line stations are more "breezy" maybe due to a more open-air design. Ang pangit ng blue line, parang boxes....

the government doesnt look keen on making an all underground line. if it's only needed. look at Singapore's MRT, it's efficient, and only underground in the CBD. it's a good model for MM's MRT system

the government doesnt look keen on making an all underground line. if it's only needed. look at Singapore's MRT, it's efficient, and only underground in the CBD. it's a good model for MM's MRT system

I agree. And MRT 3 kinda did that with its Ayala and Buendia stations (even though they are not fully underground). MRT 3 was also supposed to have a branching out part into Ayala ave which is all underground, that is why u can see a closed off part turning into ayala ave. near the ayala station.

MRT 4 could be partially underground and partially elevated...

another big blow to MRT3:
:bash:



MRT stalls anew

Updated 12:59pm (Mla time) Aug 12, 2004
INQ7.net


OPERATIONS of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) on EDSA stalled anew on Thursday after a “cut power source” stopped a train at the Kamuning station in Quezon City, a spokesman for the MRT said.

In an interview on GMA Network’s radio station dzBB, Mariano Gui said there was a small “explosion” before the power cable snapped.

As a result, northbound and southbound trains carried passengers only between the Shaw station in Mandaluyong and the Taft station in Pasay City, or about half of the entire stretch of the MRT, Gui said.

The spokesman could not immediately explain why the cable snapped. A similar incident stalled an MRT train near the Guadalupe station in June.

grabe. ang pangit ng blue line. sirain.

MRT 3 is blue line? wag naman. ok rin naman. better to have one than nothing. but since its along EDSA, dapat nga mas astig siya, like the purple line. hehe...tama ba?

Para namang wala silang ginagawang maintenance.

hay naku! kanina i was in MRT-3... ang bagal ng operations... 5 mins ung stop over sa Santolan-Annapolis! same with the GMA-Kamuning station... maybe bacause the rain was hard... but then... it was an inconvinience...

and the cable snappings...i found out something... i found out that the cause of the breakdown incidents was caused by flaws in the design of the system... particularly the rails and cables.. some parts of the line actually has irregularities on the rails... which is the reason why the MRT is a bit shaky... at some point of the system, these causes strain to the cable lines that cause its snapping...

irregularities... parang may point na un may mababang rail tapos biglang mataas...but the cable remains on the same height.. it causes excess friction that eventually snaps the cable

So much for the Strong Republic Transit System... ts starting to get weak. :(

damn Metrostar and MRTC... how do they expect to get passengers to pay an extra P10 with shitty services like these? I'd happily pay off an extra P10 for the MRT-2 and maybe even LRT-1, but MRT-3? no way...

mrt 3 is just another product of the geniuses behind the govt & their cohorts in the private sector. i was able to browse pala a copy of taipan mag dated oct 1993, & the cover story then was the proposed edsa rail, whose one of the original proponents was israeli businessman Eli Levin who now controls a minority stake in the consortium in the project. but the original plan was way way different & better than d finished product we're actualy using today. well, cguro nga nagkaron ng major amendments along the way. one picture there even showed d train passing right inside d megamall. il try to post the sample pics here soon 4 u to see....

ah damn the MRT3 line passing through megamall is just horribly looking. it looks more of a rail depot station than a MRT stop.

haha! eto nasa MRT ako ulet kanina... bumagal drastically ung service nung trains... because sa mga strains sa cable, the train had to go super slow on some parts of the tracks, even slower than the traffic in edsa.

ugh, I went on a joyride on the LRT-2 yesterday for no reason. While the stations and trains were world-class, sadly, the view wasn't. The view is so ugly! I wish we had a line of that caliber in EDSA. Oh well.

people go on the MRT/LRT lines for transport, not view. just a thought for you. ;)

Gov’t gives green light for $1.2-B MRT-7 intermodal transport system
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star 08/14/2004

The proponents of the $1.2-billion Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 intermodal transport system expect to start the project by early next year after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved the project on first pass, sources told The STAR.

NEDA’s Investment Coordination Council (ICC) gave the green light for the project after its proponents manifested their readiness to fully comply with the ICC’s requirements.

The proposal will then be subject before the end of the year to the so-called Swiss challenge, wherein other parties will be allowed to match the unsolicited offer of MRT 7’s proponents which the latter will again be allowed to match.

"But we do not expect any challenge to be made to our offer because this project is something that will be difficult to match," the proponents told The STAR.

The proponents, led by Universal LRT Corp., are putting in $300 million in equity investments and will borrow another $900 million for the mass transit system.

Another $500 million will likewise be secured for the real estate component of the project. The MRT-7 group also include SM Capital, BDO Capital, PentaCapital, the Go family, International Finance Corp., and other multilateral agencies.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said they are in continuous discussions with the proponents to further reduce the government’s exposure in the project and to work out the annexes to the proposed concession agreement.

"We hope to submit the results of our discussions to the NEDA-ICC for its consideration for eventual second pass approval at the earliest possible time," Mendoza said in a letter to NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri.

The project proponents said they have hurdled most of the major requirements to pave the way for MRT-7’s implementation. These include a legal opinion from the Department of Justice determining that the proposed concession agreement does not contain any violation of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law with respect to government guarantee or subsidy.

The BOT project, whose railway line will run from Marilao in Bulacan and Caloocan City to SM North Edsa, will involve the construction of a 22-kilometer railway transit system, a 17-km eight-lane asphalt road, 13 elevated stations and one underground station.

Once completed, MRT-7 will have an initial capacity of 650,000 passengers per day, which could be expanded to 850,000.

Universal LRT Corp. is led by EL International Holdings, a member of the EL Group of Companies of Hong Kong. The other consortium members include the Yuchengco-owned EEI Corp., TCGI Engineers, Tyco subsidiary Eart Tech and Alstom Phils.

US-based Tyco is the biggest manufacturer of electrical and electronic components while French firm Alstom is an infrastructure giant.

Universal LRT and Alstom are the same group behind LRT-1 on Rizal and Taft avenues and MRT-3 along EDSA.

MRT-7 will begin its route from Marilao, passing through the La Mesa Dam reservoir, Fairview, Batasan complex, University of the Philippines in Diliman, Philcoa and EDSA-Quezon Avenue.

In a presentation made before President Arroyo yesterday, Univeral LRT chairman and former Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo said government’s share in net revenues will run to as high as 70 percent at no cost to government. It will be privately financed and will not entail any government subsidy nor direct government guarantees.

The project is considered the single biggest investment during the Arroyo administration.

When completed, MRT-7 will boost the viability of LRT-1 and MRT-3 to which the new line will be connected. The proponents said MRT-7 will complete Metro Manila’s rail loop and, eventually, transfer hundreds of thousands of commuters to MRT-3.

Aside from a railway transit system, MRT-7 will also consist of a 17-km, four-lane asphalt private road; a 20-hectare "intermodal" bus station and train depot; a 20.9-km elevated light rail transit from Tala in Caloocan to North Avenue and EDSA in Quezon City; a 4.8-km. spur line connection to LRT-2 on Katipunan Road; and an integrated joint station with MRT-3’s Phase 2.

MRT-7 also aims to reduce the number of provincial buses clogging Metro Manila’s roads. The project proponents said MRT-7 would halve travel time from northern Metro Manila to Quezon City.

The main highlight of the MRT-7 project, however, is the creation of a new city in Bulacan over a period of 25 years, wherein government will get a 20 percent share in the land.

The proponents intend to develop a 195-hectare property partly serving as MRT-7’s depot into a mixed-use residential and commercial project.

Overall, the property development company will be investing a total of P2.6 billion for the residential-commercial projects, inclusive of land development within three years.

Aside from de Ocampo, other prominent people behind the project include retail giant Henry Sy; Eli Levin; Vicente de Villa; George Uy; Samson Lazo; Walter Mergelsberg; Claudio Altura; Jovencio Cinco; Romeo Bernardo; and

EDSA in Quezon City; a 4.8-km. spur line connection to LRT-2 on Katipunan Road ===>what does this mean?

ugh, I went on a joyride on the LRT-2 yesterday for no reason. While the stations and trains were world-class, sadly, the view wasn't. The view is so ugly! I wish we had a line of that caliber in EDSA. Oh well.

I agree with you a 100%! It sort of saddened me. The MRT 2 looked decades more advanced than its surroundings. I really wish it was on EDSA.

sana MRT 7 would be much much better than MRT 3... :fiddle:

@ Federal, i guess that would be a hi-way that will connect the LRT2 with MRT 7. Or an existing hi-way to be developed. Or is it a rail track? i don't think so. Anyway, this is a good news. Hopefully, it gets done quickly. And would be better than MRT 3.

a spur track is a track that branches from the main line. Apparently, the spur track here is going to connect to the katipunan underground station. if its ever done, then cool! but a lot of the niceties in a proposal usually thin out by the time its "done". otherwise, naia-3 would have a tunnel, monorail, and a cargo terminal.

this is great news. but this part just freaks me out...

Universal LRT and Alstom are the same group behind LRT-1 on Rizal and Taft avenues and MRT-3 along EDSA.

I really, really hope that they come up with something at the very, very least at par with MRT-2.

Good news. It will decongest our capital and would also make communter's live's faster. :D Any news when this will be finished?

hmmm... it's too ambitious IMO... the line will be the longest yet to be built... it will also have the most ridership among all trains... i'm afraid it might end up like the one in edsa... i would be impressed if it would end up something like LRT 2...or even better...let's see... nakakaexcite! seriously! kase ako makikinabang once its done...

pero while it's under construction... it will be the biggest headache for commuters!... dadaan ung trains sa already congested roads!... mapipilitan akong mag-dorm once nagsimula na ung construction nun! i hope mag-open un bago ako makagraduate sa ust!

imagine... from fairview i would ride the MRT 7 to katipunan(spur-line) then i would transfer to LRT-2 the i woud stop at recto and ride a jeep to UST! it dosen't feel so manila ei!

Yay! i'm so happy! then if ever MRT 4 would push through on españa, UST would have their very own station just like lasalle! patrain-train nalang mga Metro manilans...

Yay! i'm so happy! then if ever MRT 4 would push through on españa, UST would have their very own station just like lasalle! patrain-train nalang mga Metro manilans...
the idea of having trains all over the place is fun at first but lateron, people will realize it's more fun to live in a city where you don't need trains to travel around... where a car can bring you anywhere, easily and without hassle (i.e. traffic).

lots of japanese realized that after tokyo became a train city.

a spur track is a track that branches from the main line. Apparently, the spur track here is going to connect to the katipunan underground station. if its ever done, then cool! but a lot of the niceties in a proposal usually thin out by the time its "done". otherwise, naia-3 would have a tunnel, monorail, and a cargo terminal.


so maybe two routes (train lines) will pass thru katipunan... cool!

The sad part is, they might chop this project into several phases. The problem with the government is once it implements the first phase, the succeeding ones get delayed.... i hope one whole project ito. :cheers:

whoever builds this one, it will be up to the government whether funding will be cut. so if it goes clean, or near-clean, then we will see somewhat like a line 2. and also, MRT-7 should be the one connecting North Edsa with Balintawak!

MRT7-North Line
LRT2-Central Line
LRT1- West Line
MRT3- East Line

the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) approved the project on first pass, sources told The STAR.


...> first-pass approval? what's that mean? So may second-pass approval pa?

maybe it has to pass another gov't agency's review.

as to how the trains and the stations will look, i'm looking forward to it. certainly gov't officials want to impress.

SUBWAY kaya walang gagawa? Hmmm... I bet sobrang HIRAp ng Pilipinas para magkaroon ng subway, lam nyo ba? Bangkok just recently opened their nw subway system, HOPING na in the future Manila will have one diba?

plus they will be having their controversial Airport opened very soon. It looks nice imo.

The truth is, hindi naman sobrang mahirap ang Pilipinas. Sobrang corrupt lang ang gobyerno. There's actually a lot of money in this country, more than you can imagine. It's just not being put to good use. A lot of trapos have no imagination, we really need more politicians with edifice complexes.

lots of businesses not paying taxes too... that's why the government cannot include their earnings in their computations. like just all those stores in divisoria and all the palengkes.

like said before, we don't need a fully underground line. elevated, partially underground lines would do it. Line 2 is a perfect example. you dont build it underground unless needed

I agree with the future president;)

wait, so MRT-7 will also go on Katipunan? I'm confused.

well MRT-7 is the SM-sponsored line isn't it? it's from North Edsa to Bulacan

btw, is all of Line 2 open? according to urbanRail.net it's still not

Only recto station is scheduled to be open between Oct and Dec... all other stations are open na

ah ok. sounds cool. any news there about the Line 2 4km extension?

not yet...but that should come much later.

Yeah. the extension to Masinag (East) has not even been finalized yet...

Repairs to follow MRT breakdowns
By On-line staff
Posted : 8/18/2004

Finally, here’s an obvious solution to put an end to the MRT series of breakdowns.

TES Philippines, the Japanese technical maintenance contractor of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), will be conducting thorough repairs on the trains.

The MRT has encountered rail line troubles in the past few months causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters.

TES Philippines, which gets P30 million every month for maintenance, will install gadgets to support and back up the train system in case it breaks down again.

The MRT authoritities learned that the trains used for the MRT were built for cold climate and not for a tropical country like the Philippines.
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look at this one.
http://www.cis.com.ph/new/esourcing/images/metro_manila_map.jpg

i know we've seen a lot of those. but just for the people who haven't

Repairs to follow MRT breakdowns
By On-line staff
Posted : 8/18/2004

Finally, here’s an obvious solution to put an end to the MRT series of breakdowns.

TES Philippines, the Japanese technical maintenance contractor of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), will be conducting thorough repairs on the trains.

The MRT has encountered rail line troubles in the past few months causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters.

TES Philippines, which gets P30 million every month for maintenance, will install gadgets to support and back up the train system in case it breaks down again.

The MRT authoritities learned that the trains used for the MRT were built for cold climate and not for a tropical country like the Philippines.
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OH for a cold climate eh? Bakit may aircon... it's just lame.

Thats dumb. The main electronics and other systems in the MRT 3 are indeed for the cold weather. These trains are built in Czech Republic and are usually sold in the European countries (Austria has the same trains as the MRT 3). We really should have gotten better trains for MRT 3 like the South Korean made MRT 2.

totally right GreyX