User:Hachijo8/ELE

Electrified rail systems in the Philippines
Two rapid transit lines in Metro Manila. MRT Line 3 (bottom) uses 750 V DC while LRT Line 2 (top) uses 1,500 V DC, the future standard for electrification in the country.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	DOTR, MRTC
Locale	Metro Manila Calabarzon
Service
System	Rapid transit
Services	3
Operator(s)	Various
Rolling stock	Electric multiple units
Daily ridership	1,200,000 (2018)
History
Opened	1903 (Tranvía) 1984 (Modern systems)
Closed	1945 (Tranvía)
Technical
Number of tracks	2-3
Character	Grade-separated
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V and 1,500 V DC Overhead lines
Operating speed	60–80 km/h (37–50 mph)

Railway electrification in the Philippines (Tagalog: Elektripikasyon ng mga daang-bakal sa Pilipinas) began in 1903 with the introduction of the Tranvía streetcar and light rail system. These replaced tram locomotives operating in Manila and its surrounding Rizal province. There were also such systems in Corregidor, today part of Cavite. Services on these two systems lasted until 1945 after the system was obliterated during the Battle of Manila. Meanwhile, the state-owned Manila Railroad Company, never managed to realize its proposals to electrify any of its mainlines and instead opted for dieselization in 1954.

A modern electrification system was introduced with the opening of the Manila LRT Line 1 on December 1, 1984 using an overhead catenary instead of trolley poles. The first heavy rail system to be electrified was then introduced on April 5, 2003 with the opening of the LRT Line 2. Future developments include the North–South Commuter Railway which shall open in 2022. It will become the first commuter rail line to be electrified. In comparison with the old narrow-gauge Tranvías, all electrified rail systems use standard-gauge track.

History

First era: Tranvia system

Main article: Tranvía

The first rail system in the country was opened in 1882 with the establishment of the Compañia de los Tranvias de Filipinas, which operated tram systems in the city of Manila. These trams were push–pull trains powered by small German-made steam locomotives. The American occupation of the Philippines allowed the creation of a new tram operator in Manila. After over 20 years of operation, Charles M. Swift purchased the Tranvias in 1903. This became the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company. The company opened its first line in 1905 and in 1906, 63 kilometers (39 mi) of track were built as part of a 12-line system in the city. The lines were rehabilitated from 1920–24 and also served nearby areas outside of downtown Manila. It has not expanded ever since.

The lines were closed during World War II and the entire network was destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. The lines were never rebuilt.

Mindanao Railway proposal

See also: Mindanao Railway

The Manila Railroad, once the country's largest intercity passenger rail provider, never electrified its mainline in Luzon. However, proposals have been made in 1936 when then-president Manuel L. Quezon desired an expansion of the system to Mindanao. The line would be powered through the Maria Cristina Falls' power plant, now the Agus VI Hydroelectric Plant. The project only achieved track bed construction when it was abandoned in 1940 during the outbreak of World War II.

After the war, another proposal for a new railroad system in Mindanao was made by the De Leuw, Cather and Company and MRR General Manager Prospero Sanidad in 1952. However, the project never pushed through until the 2010s.

1960s and 1970s

Traffic became a growing concern in Manila as jeepneys and buses replaced the streetcar system. This is a similar situation with most other post-war societies. The first studies for a new rapid transit system were conducted in 1966 but were never realized. Another study was conducted in 1977 by Freeman Fox and Associates and funded by the World Bank. It was originally suggested an at-grade system, but its recommendations were revised by the newly formed Ministry of Transportation and Communications (now the Department of Transportation). to an elevated railway system.

Second era: Rapid transit

Main articles: Manila Light Rail Transit System and Manila Metro Rail Transit System

Overhead lines over the LRT Line 2 in Manila in 2016.

Construction for the first rapid transit system in the Philippines started in 1980. The LRT Line 1 light rail transit line connects cities in western Metro Manila.

Another light rapid transit system, the Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3, was opened in 1999. This line starts at Taft Avenue station in Pasay and connected to EDSA station in LRT Line 1 and terminates in North Avenue station. Later, LRT Line 2 was opened in 2003. The line was the first heavy rail rapid transit system despite being named as a "Light Rail Transit" line, as it is operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority. As of February 2020, the three lines are the only active ones in Manila's rapid transit system and the only active electrified rail systems in the Philippines.

Future

Main article: North–South Commuter Railway

The Duterte administration announced that eleven lines have been planned for Manila's rapid transit system. As of February 2020, three lines are operational, two under construction, two more approved, three awaiting approval, and one shelved indefinitely. The MRT Line 7 will be the first to open among the proposed lines with a target opening date between late 2020 and early 2021. The Philippine National Railways also announced the North–South Commuter Railway, an electrified standard-gauge line that will be built over the old North and South Main Lines. This 148 km (92 mi) line will connect Metro Manila with New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac and Calamba, Laguna. Once opened partially in 2021, it will be the first main line in the country to be electrified. Once all of these urban rail transit projects have been completed, 324 kilometers (201 mi) of electrified dual-track railways will serve Metro Manila and neighboring administrative regions of Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

The Department of Transportation also announced that the proposed Mindanao Railway project is also slated for electrification once the line's operations has been successful in the long run. If this electrification plan was realized before 2045, it will be the country's first electrified intercity rail service.

Technical

The Philippine rapid transit system uses two distinct standards for electrification that both use direct current, with voltages of 1.5 kV and 750 V used for heavy rail and light rail, respectively. The former is used on LRT Line 1 and MRT Line 3 while the latter is used on LRT Line 2. The future MRT Line 7 will also use the 750 V standard but will use third rail electrification. All operational and proposed railway lines are standard-gauge railways.

List of electrification systems

There are currently two known electrification systems in the country, both utilizing direct current power.

750 V DC LRT Line 1 — Overhead lines, active MRT Line 3 — Overhead lines, active MRT Line 7 — Third rail, under construction

1,500 V DC: All of the systems that use or will use this system are powered through overhead lines. LRT Line 2 — Active Makati Intra-city Subway (MRT Line 5) — Under construction MRT Line 4 – Proposed Metro Manila Subway (Line 9) — Under construction North–South Commuter Railway — Under construction

Unknown type LRT Line 6 — Proposed Mindanao Railway — Line planned to be electrified in the future MRT Line 8 — Proposed PNR North Long Haul — Proposed Subic Clark Railway — Line approved, electrification proposed

Rolling stock

Since all electrified lines in the Philippines are used for rapid transit, all operational electric-powered rolling stock are electric multiple units. There are no plans for the country to use electric locomotives in the near future. All future cargo railroads such as the South Long Haul intercity section or the Subic–Clark Railway will be operated with diesel locomotives.

Operational rolling stock

• 
  LRTA 1000 class of 1984
• 
  LRTA 1100 class of 1999
• 
  LRTA 1200 class of 2006
• 
  LRTA 2000 class of 2003
• 
  MRTC 3000 class of 1999
• 
  MRTC 3100 class of 2014

Future rolling stock

Not included are the images for the LRTA 13000 class and the Metro Manila Subway EMUs.

• 
  A Hyundai Rotem Line 7 EMU of 2018, to enter service in 2022.
• 
  A PNR EM10000 class EMU of 2021, to enter service in 2023.