By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
With the growing volume of cars in Metro Manila being the center of economic activities of the Philippines, the dependence on cars and lack of efficient public transport system in the country paves the way to coming up with the first underground subway in the country. This subway will significantly reduce reliance on the car, provide the riding public with access to fast and affordable transportation, and also increase the productivity of the daily commuters.
The Metro Manila Subway is one of the Philippines’ largest infrastructure projects aimed at creating an efficient rail system in the world’s most densely populated city. As part of this push for development, construction has begun on a third Mass Rapid Transit line and the metropolis’ first underground subway line to connect its northern and southern cities. Thales, together with our partners Colas Rail and Egis, has been awarded a contract worth more than €1 billion. In the frame of this contract, Thales will provide its Integrated Communications and Supervision (ICS) and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems to the project, at a value of €156 million.
Set to connect Valenzuela in the north, to the southern city of Parañaque, the 35 kilometre line will consist of 15 underground stations that will reduce traffic congestion and promote more efficient commuter journeys. The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) estimates that the future subway line will reduce travel time from Quezon City to Taguig by two-thirds, from close to two hours today to 35 minutes.
This contract represents Thales’ noteworthy entry into the transportation sector in the Philippines. This is also the first in the Asian region where the latest generation of our Integrated Communications and Supervision solution will be implemented, supported by global expertise from Thales teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Portugal and France.
Thales will design and develop the integrated and secure communications networks (incl. radio, Multi Service Network, wayside telephone and wireless LAN systems), wayside equipment for security systems (including CCTV and Video Analytics features), passenger information and public address, the digital supervision solution as well as the centralised supervision of energy system (power-SCADA). This state-of-the-art ICS solution is compliant with the highest cybersecurity standards and will offer DOTr the latest digital technologies for an intelligent, sustainable and scalable system that is designed to last. Thales will also provide Automatic Fare Collection as part of its scope in the project.
Thales has built extensive experience in major metro projects in the region over the last decade, with strong local expertise from teams situated all across Asia, collaborating with Thales teams in Europe and North America.
“We are delighted to have been selected, together with our consortium partners, to help modernise Manila’s rapidly-changing urban infrastructure. The Metro Manila Subway will significantly improve mobility for the city’s residents, and we are committed to working with our partners to bring innovative technology for safer, quicker, and more comfortable journeys. This contract also further reinforces Thales’ leading position in South East Asia for rail solutions, from signalling to integrated communications and supervision systems and ticketing, for some of the region’s most complex metro projects. This marks an exciting new journey for Thales in the Philippines, and with the strong collaboration from our teams in Asia and Europe, we look forward to helping the Philippines build a robust transportation network.” Nicolas BOUVEROT, Vice-President, Thales South East Asia.