HEAVY traffic is a daily struggle for both commuters and motorist in Metro Manila. The delay and annoyance that heavy traffic create has been identified as a major cause of road accidents and road rage. Only an effective and efficient public transportation system that can ensure public safety and convenience while travelling can resolve this age old traffic menace. If a truly reliable public transportation system can be established, people will no longer have to be compelled to buy their own vehicles and thus reduce the number of cars on the road.
While the MRT and the LRT are already in place, alternate routes have been designed, and flyovers are being constructed in strategic areas within Metro Manila, the traffic nightmare for the travelling public seems to be endless. That is why the soon to commence construction of the Metro Manila Subway this coming December is viewed by many as a bright ray of hope that will, in a few years’ time, finally resolve road congestion and end the common Filipinos’ misery on Metro Manila roads.
The Metro Manila subway is a project that aims to establish a transport system that will provide the riding public with fast and convenient travel from a Mindanao Avenue station to a final station in NAIA, and back. A large part of the planned route for the subway is underground and is expected to reduce travel time as the coaches are expected to run at a speed which more than the 40 kilometers per hour speed used by the Manila Light Rail Transit System.
The subway has been structurally designed to withstand a 7.6 magnitude earthquake to ensure public safety even in the event of a massive quake. Six trains which can carry as many as four hundred twelve (412) passengers at a time are expected to run along the designed subway route. This subway will be an alternative mode of transportation for our riding public, in addition to the MRT and LRT. Moreover, this project is perceived to contribute to the resolution of our country’s intertwined issues on land use, transportation and air pollution.
An efficient transport system is vital in the effective flow of development not only within Metro Manila but as well as through adjacent localities. The faster the mode of transportation, the faster will be the transfer of information, resources and services between providers and end users – a condition that is essential in advancing towards national inclusive growth.
