Soon, there will be another way for students and visitors to move around on the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
UP has reached an agreement with the Department of Science and Technology for the construction of a 500–meter monorail on the campus, which will serve as a test run for the rail system.
“Through this monorail, we can study the feasibility of having a train system on campus,” UP president Alfredo Pascual said.
Pascual, with Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo and other officials, led the groundbreaking ceremony for the monorail system Monday
morning.
The project is expected to be completed in six months with construction due to start by October, Montejo said.
The Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) project will be constructed entirely by a Filipino team which, according to Montejo, will showcase our ingenuity and capability in engineering.
“We are coming up with a local AGT to address the severe lack of less expensive and environmentally sustainable technology alternatives,” Montejo said.
Expected to cost between P20 million and P25 million, the monorail will run from the Commission on Higher Education area on C. P. Garcia Avenue to the UP Press building near the Academic Oval.
Pascual described the monorail as a transit system similar to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metrostar Rail Transit (MRT) except that it will run on a single track as its sole support.
The monorail, running on electricity, will have two coaches that can each seat 60 people with an elevation that may not be as high as the existing MRT and LRT systems on major thoroughfares.
“We need to set an example to the rest of the country by playing a leadership role using technology solutions,” Pascual said.
Though the pollution level on campus is not high, the UP president said he is envisioning a campus where most vehicles will be run on electricity, aside from the train system, to reduce pollution.