Baguio revisits cable car, elevated train proposals
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — An abandoned plan to improve Baguio’s public transportation with elevated trains or cable cars is back on the table, Mayor Benjamin Magalong announced last week.
The project, initially proposed in 2019 by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña as an unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP), is now being considered as a side project by developer Megawide Construction Corp.
Last week, Megawide signed a P1.2-billion lease to establish a Baguio version of the Parañaque Integrated Exchange Terminal.
The new Baguio City Integrated Terminal will rise at the gateway to Marcos Highway (Ben Palispis-Jose Aspiras Highway) and serve southbound buses entering and exiting the mountain city.
READ: Baguio scraps plan to build elevated e-train, cable carriage
The facility is designed to accommodate multiple modes of public transport, including small city buses that ferry passengers to downtown Baguio and densely populated neighborhoods.
Megawide also hinted at integrating an “in-city cable car system” under a separate deal.
Magalong said the latest discussions on a cable car involve French engineering consultant Egis, though the city is prioritizing a longer railway route inside Baguio.
French engineering
Neighboring La Trinidad and other Benguet towns have not yet expressed interest in hosting the system.
The project is part of Baguio’s low-carbon transport initiative, crucial given its narrow 190-kilometer (km) road network.
With 59,000 registered vehicles and an average of 28,000 visitors daily, traffic congestion remains a persistent challenge.
Previous proposals included a 5.2-km Automated Guideway Transit system by the Department of Science and Technology, designed to carry 720 passengers across six coaches from the Baguio market to La Trinidad.
Sobrepeña’s more recent cable car plan, in partnership with Chinese automaker BYD, stalled over alignment and safety concerns.
Magalong said efficient mass transport and the operations of the new terminal would encourage tourists and business travelers to use buses instead of private vehicles, easing gridlock on Baguio’s roads. /cb
