A 100-PERCENT Filipino-made and locally sourced single-rail train will soon run on the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
Science Secretary Mario Montejo and UP President Alfredo Pascual on Monday led government officials and members of the academic community in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) prototype project at the UP Diliman campus.
The highlight of the ceremony was the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Science and Technology and UP, making UP as the “testing laboratory” of the AGT.
“The parts [of AGT] are 100-percent locally available and the train is proudly 100-percent gawang Pinoy,” Montejo told the BusinessMirror.
He said the metals to be used in the construction of the single rail, as well as the train and all its parts, are locally manufactured and developed by an all-Filipino team of experts.
Developed by the DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center, the AGT is a rail-based mass transit similar to the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) except that it runs on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and guideway. A group of engineers from UP Diliman is working with the DOST on the project.
The prototype will have two 60-passenger coaches to run on a 56-meter test track on the campus.
According to Montejo, the construction of the 600-kilometer prototype railway will cost around P15 million and will take about six months to complete.
The train will cost between P3 million and P4 million, or about 20 percent of the cost of the trains imported by the Philippines for the LRT and MRT.
“The development of a local AGT hopes to address the severe lack of less-expensive and environmentally sustainable technology alternatives. It is also developed to show Filipino ingenuity and capability in engineering. We hope we can come up with this model for adoption in other urban areas in the Philippines,” Montejo told the BusinessMirror.
The AGT also aims to make the public-transport system more environment-friendly.
Initially to be tested for its social acceptability and economic viability at the UP Diliman campus, Montejo said the AGT may be further developed and used outside the UP campus, as it offers a cheaper, faster and safer means of public transportation in the Philippines.
The technology is being widely used in developed countries because its construction, operation and maintenance are cheaper than any other railway systems, such as the LRT and MRT, Montejo said.
Pascual also disclosed that the DOST and UP will launch a comprehensive study on the economic viability and social acceptability of the AGT.
UP Diliman chancellor Caesar Saloma expressed hope that the technology behind AGT will be integrated in the curricula at UP Diliman, particularly in mechanical engineering, programming and social behavior that will lead to a lifestyle change among commuters.
With the AGT in place, Saloma said UP teachers, students and employees should be able to report on time.
Among those who attended the event were Arthur Lucas Cruz, director of DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center, Amelia Guevara, director of DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development, and UP Vice president for Development Elvira Zamora.
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