“We welcome the wider participation of the private sector and their closer collaboration with the national government in railway development”
“HOW come,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. asked recently, “rich people in London ride the train?”
Our answer to this rhetorical question is this: Because we have a woefully inadequate mass transport system that has led to horrible traffic congestion and huge economic costs.
We recall that years ago, the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated that P3.5 billion is the daily opportunity loss due to traffic build-up in Metro Manila.
What is needed to solve the transport crisis in the metropolis is in fact a whole-of-government approach.
Here’s what National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan has to say on this issue: “What the President really wants is a comprehensive and holistic approach to solving the traffic problem, not the piecemeal approach as has been the case all these years. If there is a chokepoint in one, it affects the whole system.
“That’s why we really need to look at it as a system.”
What’s clear by now is the government should have given top priority to building an extensive and efficient and railway network in the metropolis decades ago.
A railway system is the most sustainable way to go.
Trains can carry the most number of people in the shortest amount of time in very large capacities. One train can carry over 1,200 passengers every 2.5 minutes.
With increased traffic congestion in Metro Manila today, what is
needed is to shift from road-based travel to rail-based mass transport.
A concrete step along this direction is the integration of MRT-3 and LRT Line.
This is the unsolicited proposal of a joint venture of Metro Pacific Investment Corporation and the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo for the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of MRT-3.
What they propose to achieve is what they call Through Train Operations that will “close the loop” between MRT-3 and LRT Line 1.
This, they said, would result in passenger convenience, decrease travel time and travel expense of passengers, and, more importantly, mitigate the current traffic congestion especially along EDSA.
Hence, the problems that plagued the MRT-3 in the past would no longer be experienced by the riding public.
The reality today is that MRT-3 is approaching the end of its design life even if the recent general overhaul/rehabilitation may have given a life extension of five years.
Hence, maintaining the system at peak efficiency has become a primary concern.
The MPIC/Sumitomo project will involve substantial capital expenditure and a comprehensive plan to address immediate, medium and long-term needs and service objectives of the aging infrastructure.
MPIC is a leading infrastructure conglomerate with investments in power, toll roads, water, transportation, healthcare and real estate.
Sumitomo, on the other hand, has technical and institutional knowledge of the MRT-3 system as it has been the maintenance provider from 2000 to the present.
Sumitomo has proven maintenance credentials as evidenced by superior transport services and continuous passenger growth of MRT-3 up to 2012.
It was re-engaged in December 2018 to solve system degradation due to poor maintenance from 2012 to 2017.
It managed to undertake rehabilitation works without delay even during the COVID-19 period
Sumitomo’s excellent track record is also proven by its
successful rehabilitation efforts that led to a 94 percent decrease in major service interruption from a high of 81 in 2017 to only five incidents in 2021.
The company has been able to secure critical spare parts for the entire MRT3 system and has the competence to integrate the MRT-3 system with LRT Line 1 that would bring both short-term and long-term benefits to the riding public.
The integrated operation of MRT-3 and LRT-1 as a closed loop will result in 20 percent reduction in vehicles on EDSA, according to a traffic study.
LRT-1 and MRT-3 can be integrated as well with a second common station in the EDSA-Taft area in the south.
Integrated transport terminals and transit-oriented development must be developed with the railway stations to improve first and last-mile connectivity.
The railway system should be integrated with other transport modes: buses, jeepneys, motorcycles and tricycles.
This integration can bring better interoperability not just in terms of transfers but also payment systems.
Many Filipinos have experienced efficient and reliable rail transport in Japan, HK and Singapore, among other places.
We deserve the same type of convenience.
Thus, we welcome the wider participation of the private sector and their closer collaboration with the national government in railway development so that we can vastly improve mass transport in this country. (Email: [email protected])