Philippines to Trial Mass Railway Transit

Rail Technology
July 21, 2011

The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, have signed a deal to build an environmentally friendly mass railway transit called the automated guideway transit (AGT).

The pilot monorail project is a collaborative study to determine the feasibility of the AGT as a low-cost transportation service to be trialled on a 2km stretch across key spots within the vicinity of the university.

The AGT will be similar to the conventional metro rail transit and light rail transit, except that it is fully automated, driverless and runs on a single rail that acts as its only support and guideway.

The first AGT prototype tested on DOST has secured approval for commercial deployment from Philippines.

DoST notes that the second prototype, to initially run on a 500m track, will be capable of speeds of 50-60km/h, but will later increase to 100-120 km/h in the next phase.

DoST expects that if the project is proven to be viable, the AGT could provide solutions to transport problems and will have the potential of being replicated nationwide.

Construction of AGT will be completed in about six to nine months and the project is estimated to cost about P25m ($583,700), which will be funded entirely by DoST.