No, we’re not talking about political activists taking the big plunge into full-time organizing and doing propaganda work in the city or the countryside and constantly trying to elude the police and the military under an assumed name.
We’re talking, quite literally, of boring a tunnel underground so that trains can zip along at a relatively fast pace and bring passengers to their destinations in the metropolis without breaking a sweat.
That enticing prospect of ditching your own private vehicle and avoiding hellish Metro Manila traffic above ground is what the P488.5 billion Metro Manila Subway Project offers.
But here’s the catch: You won’t get to step into any of the train coaches running along the planned stretch of the subway from Valenzuela City to Pasay City anytime soon, or within this year or the next.
After all, infrastructure projects of this scale take many years to finish. This particular project will be completed only in 2027.
But the recent launching of the Tunnel Boring Machine of the subway project with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in attendance brings a ray of hope that the days of horrible traffic in Metro Manila are already numbered.
The Metro Manila subway will have 17 stations connecting Valenzuela City to Pasay City and is expected to serve approximately 519,000 passengers daily once it becomes operational.
Six units of Tunnel Boring Machines will be utilized for the first phase of the project, which is the excavation for the tunnels.
Mr. Marcos Jr. said the event was a “testament to the administration’s commitment to continue the projects initiated by the previous administration… (and) build better and more infrastructure.”
“We will continue to invest and improve on our transportation systems as well as pursue more projects in the years to come so that Filipinos can gain greater access to places of work, commerce, recreation, and other vital areas,” he said.
An effective and efficient mass transportation system will in fact have multiplier effects on employment and boost the economy as a whole.
We owe it to the government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency for helping the country with this subway project.
Japan, after all, has the technology, knowhow and experience in building and maintaining extensive rail systems, including “bullet trains” capable of speeds up to 300 kph.
Our PNR trains at present run at a snail-paced 60 to 90 kph, if we’re not mistaken.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista described the start of tunneling work as marking “the point of no return” as his department will be going full speed ahead to complete subway project.
We agree completely, and hope that this project will be the start of “better days ahead,” as the President said, for the public transportation system in the country, particularly in Metro Manila.