By Tracy Cabrera
ORTIGAS CENTER, Mandaluyong City — The Metro Rail Transit is set to transform the lives of commuters in eastern Metro Manila with a new rail line that would link Rizal province directly to the EDSA-Ortigas central business district, which spans the borders of Pasig, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City.
Department of Transportation Secretary Atty announced this. Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez, who also said that the new rail line is designed to integrate with MRT-3 to make accessibility easier for commuters.
Accordingly, the long-awaited Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) is set to provide a direct rail connection that will run along the Ortigas Avenue Extension and ease traffic congestion on one of Metro Manila’s busiest transport corridors.
“The 13.4-km elevated railway will connect Taytay, Rizal to Ortigas Avenue in Quezon City, serving thousands of daily commuters from Taytay, Cainta, Pasig and nearby areas,” Lopez cited.
Designed with ten stations, MRT-4 is expected to significantly reduce travel time, improve access to Metro Manila’s central business districts and integrate with existing rail networks, including MRT-3 at EDSA-Ortigas.
“Once completed, the line is expected to dramatically cut travel times along the heavily congested Ortigas Avenue corridor, one of the country’s busiest roads,” the transportation chief likewise noted.
Originally conceived as the Philippines’ first monorail, MRT-4 has since been redesigned as a full metro rail system that is being developed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) with financing support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
ia/xf
