The Department of Transportation said Friday the Japan International Cooperation Agency pledged P125.7 million to create a 30-year railway masterplan for Metro Manila and surrounding regions.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the 30-year plan to be formulated by the government with technical cooperation from JICA “would certainly enable us to build more than just a thousand kilometers of rails.”
“This time, our railway personnel will have to adapt to new technologies and modern equipment. No one else can lead this railway renaissance,” Bautista said.
Under the masterplan, the government of Japan, through JICA, will continue to invest in the country’s railway infrastructure expansion and will cover areas in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and CALABARZON for 30 years or until 2055.
The masterplan is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026.
DOTr Undersecretary for railways Cesar Chavez said the 30-year plan was “unheard of, and treated as a voyage to the future like a mission to Mars.”
“This masterplan, for example, will transcend five presidencies, and I am sure that it will contain a blueprint so viable, and a vision so compelling that succeeding administrations will have no choice but to follow it,” Chavez said.
“With 150-year experience in rail development, with 30,000 kilometers of rail, with 25 billion riders a year, there are no better senseis than these kind, compassionate, generous, hardworking and honest people,” he said.
Chavez said he is “confident that the masterplan that will be drafted will not end up in some dusty archives, but will be a living document.”
The master plan aims to rapidly expand the railway infrastructure network and sustainable urban development, increase rail passenger trips and double the average distance of all trips within one hour during peak rush hour by 2055.
The plan also aims to enhance the learning and planning capabilities of the DOTr through technology and knowledge transfer from JICA.
It is also expected to strengthen the DOTr’s institutional capacity and increase the knowledge of staff in transportation planning, project development and proficiency in industry-leading transportation planning software.
Japan has one of the most extensive rail networks in the world and pioneered bullet trains with top speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour.
Japan is also extending official development assistance loans for the North-South Commuter Railway and Metro Manila Subway project.