The government is seeking a $1-billion loan from the Asian Development Bank to finance the planned mass transport system that will run from San Juan City to Taytay in Rizal province.
Documents from the ADB showed the Metro Rail Transit Line 4 project would be a fully-elevated railway mass-transit system serving the eastern side of Metro Manila and the highly-populated areas of Rizal.
The 15.56-kilometer MRT4, with 11 stations, two other provisional stations in the future and a barrier-free design to allow inclusive access, is expected to address the transport bottleneck along Ortigas Avenue.
“In the Philippines, substantial underinvestment in infrastructure has led to chronic capacity constraints in the transport sector, resulting in economic losses due to road congestion and in significant air pollution, as 98 percent of passenger transport and 55 percent of freight transport are by road, making Metro Manila one of the most dense and congested natural cities in the Asian region,” the ADB said.
It said that with insufficient public transport options available and no capable public mass-rapid-transit systems in place, travel times during peak hours along this corridor can take an average of three hours for the 11.5 kilometer journey from Tikling in Taytay, Rizal to the Ortigas CBD in Mandaluyong City,” it said.
The ADB said the MRT4 project would provide a reliable, rapid, affordable and safe public transport and would reduce traffic congestions and commute/travel times from Taytay to the Ortigas CBD from one to three hours by road to less than half an hour by rail.
It will also maintain the high-economic growth and inclusive urban development of eastern Manila, the Ortigas CDB, Pasig City and the neighboring Rizal province, the ADB said.
The Department of Transportation said the project’s design stage was slated this year, while early works would start in 2024, with completion likely in 2028.
Once fully operational by 2028, the P59.3-billion MRT-4 trains could run 80 kilometers per hour at maximum speed and a commercial speed of 25 kilometers to 40 kilometers an hour.
The railway will cut across the cities of Mandaluyong, San Juan, Quezon, Pasig and the municipalities of Cainta and Taytay in Rizal, addressing the massive traffic problem and limited road capacities in the densely populated areas of eastern Metro Manila.
It is expected to serve 4,464 passengers an at peak and 2,678 passengers an hour off-peak with an estimated travel time of 27 minutes from N. Domingo in San Juan City to Taytay, Rizal. The daily ridership is expected to reach 328,804 by 2030.