The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) signed on Thursday an agreement to ensure uninterrupted power and reliable service for the Philippines’ first underground railway, the Metro Manila Subway.
The partnership, according to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, will guarantee commuters uninterrupted power and reliable service from the railway system.
“I would like to thank Meralco for your support as this agreement will help the Metro Manila Subway a step closer to reality,” Bautista said during the signing of the switching station agreement with deeds of isufruct between the DOTr and Meralco.
Under the agreement, the transport agency will provide Meralco with a switching station area of 1,743 square meters for the interconnection of the Metro Manila Subway to the energy provider’s distribution network.
Once lot is allocated, Meralco will finance, install, construct, control, operate and maintain the required facilities within the switching station for the Metro Manila Subway interconnection.
The DOTr targets to complete the first segment of the subway by 2027 and its full operations by 2029.
Civil works are ongoing for the 36-km Metro Manila Subway Project. With 17 stations, the project is set to reduce travel time between Valenzuela City and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes.
It is expected to serve around 370,000 passengers a day in its first year of full operations, with capacity to serve up to 1 million passengers a day in later years.
The MMSP is physically interconnected and interoperable with the North-South Commuter Railway System’s south segment, enabling a passenger to board a subway train, for example, at North Ave. Station of MMSP and get off at the Calamba Station of NSCR.