Will the Metro Manila Subway live up to expectations? We may not have got Hong Kong's and Singapore's very efficient train system, but this one could bring a premium feel to one's daily commute.
WHAT IS THE METRO MANILA SUBWAY SYSTEM?
The Metro Manila Subway was given a thorough update when its tunnel boring machine (TBM) arrived recently. But what exactly is the Metro Manila Subway?
Currently under construction, the Metro Manila Subway is an underground rapid transit line spanning a 36-kilometer line, which will run north to south between Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, and Pasay. It will consist of 17 stations between the Quirino Highway and FTI stations and is expected to link to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The Metro Manila Subway is designed to connect with other urban rail transit services in the region. Riders may transfer to LRT (Light Rail Transit) Line 1, MRT (Metro Rail Transit) Line 3, and MRT Line 7 at the North Avenue Common station, which is also currently under construction. Other connections include the existing LRT Line 2 and PNR (Philippine National Railroad) Metro Commuter Line, as well as the planned Makati Intra-city Subway and MRT Line 8.
METRO MANILA'S GEOGRAPHY
Metro Manila, or the National Capital Region (NCR), is divided into 16 cities: the city of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros.
The Metro Manila Subway Line will operate 17 stations traversing six cities in NCR, namely Valenzuela (for the depot), Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Taguig and a small portion of Paranaque City. The Depot for trains, located in Bgy. Ugong, Valenzuela, covers about 28.8 hectares of land area above ground.
METRO MANILA SUBWAY MAP
Although the Metro Manila Subway until now is something motorists and commuters alike are still looking forward to, many maps are already available online, like this one from Rappler com (which I edited a bit to include the Valenzuela and Shaw stations). The subway map should look something like this.
Just want to point out that this subway map is not yet final as the Transportation department decided to expand the original plan to include two more stations; Lawton and Senate stations, which are to replace the Cayetano Boulevard station, located in Taguig, in the initial plan. The new Senate complex, located in Fort Bonifacio, is expected to be completed by July 2021.
As of this writing, we have yet to see a copy of the official subway map from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
THE SUBWAY LINE AND INTER-CONNECTING SERVICES
The Metro Manila Subway line is linked with the following train lines. Stations and train systems in italics are either under construction or proposed.
PAYMENT SYSTEM
In order to use the subway, you need to pay a fare. The use of contact-less card tickets is proposed to better facilitate passenger access, like the current Beep cards which are inter-operable between LRT/MRT trains and some city buses. Some groups have also proposed to use a contact-less credit card or smart device like a mobile phone.
ENTERING THE SUBWAY STATION
Subway station entrances may come in all kinds of forms. Many entrances are sure to have their own staircases that are easily recognizable from the street, just like this image renders released by the DOTr which looks kinda similar to Hong Kong's MTR stations.
INSIDE THE SUBWAY STATION (... a preview of what’s to come)
The subway stations have a different layout from those of the LRT and MRT stations. They're classier and they differ in their size, floor plans, cleanliness and style. We don't know yet how many stations will be above the street with elevated platforms, but most of the time they should be below ground. At most stations, we are sure to find the Beep Card vending machines.
Remember that the image renders below are some of the common layouts, and that each station could have different floor plans and design.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
1. The Metro Manila Subway will span 36km in length across 17 stations set up over seven local governments. It will also pass through three business districts.
2. It is planned to begin partial operations by 2022, with three stations, Qurino Highway corner of Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue, open – and all 17 stations to be fully operational by the year 2025. Construction begun its clearing phase in Valenzuela on December 21, 2019.
3. It is designed to run trains at 80 kilometers per hour and is expected to carry 1.5 million passengers per day. The DOTr estimates that taking the subway will cut travel time from Quezon City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3) to just 30 minutes.
4. Since there are estimates of an expected magnitude-7.2 earthquake (which can be as powerful as magnitude 7.6) in the Marikina Valley Fault System, the Metro Manila Subway is designed to withstand a magnitude-8.0 earthquake. In addition, it may not be entirely underground.
5. The stations would have design features such as water-stop panels, a high-level entrance for flood prevention, earthquake detection, and a train stop system, akin to the Tokyo subway.
6. The major stations of the line are planned to have 2 platform levels, one for a local train service and another for express routes. These stations are planned to have 6 floors designed for 2 platform floors, commercial shops, ticketing facilities and other amenities.
7. The spur line towards NAIA Terminal 3 is also being considered to be expanded to cover all the other terminals of the airport.
Any thoughts?
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Images from DOTr FB Page
Line Table from Wikipedia
If you have read this blog post here, I like to inform you that the original post is at https://emongsjournals.blogspot.com
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