Strong Republic Transit System
Encyclopedia
The Strong Republic Transit System was launched to integrate the various rail lines providing public transport in Manila
in the Philippines
. The program was initiated by former president
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
on June 14, 2003. It aimed to provide a "reliable, seamless and integrated mass transit system that would be at par with international standards" through the unification of already-existing rail infrastructure under one transit system and fare structure. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
(LRT), the Manila Metro Rail Transit System
(MRT) and the Philippine National Railways
(PNR) Northrail and Southrail lines were covered by the SRTS project. The program was not continued by Benigno Aquino III
, although his administration may continue the stalled Northrail project in a reconfigured way.
s where commuters would be able to seamlessly transfer from one line to the other. When the program was initiated four links were in use (see table and map). The Santa Mesa and Recto Link were added in 2004, when the already under construction Puple Line
was extended. The Northrail project has been cancelled, as a result the Caloocan Link is missing. The closing of the loop has almost been completed by extending the Yellow line with five new stations, unlike originally outlined by the plan. The Yellow would require one more station make a connection via the the so-called North Avenue Link to North Avenue MRT Station
. In order of operation the following links have been realized:
s, similar to the Octopus card
in Hong Kong
and the EZ-Link
card in Singapore
. The integrated system has not been implemented, as the project was dropped. A weekly ticket which is valid on LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 lines has been introduced in 2004 though. For ₱
250 one can make an unlimited number of rides per day on any of the three existing LRT/MRT lines during one calendar week with the so-called Flash Pass Card .
Public transport in Manila
Public transport in Metro Manila is provided by light rail, rapid transit, commuter rail, bus, jeepney and taxi.-Rail services:, there are two different rapid transit systems in Metro Manila: the Manila Light Rail Transit System, or the LRT, and the Manila Metro Rail Transit System, or the MRT...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The program was initiated by former president
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
on June 14, 2003. It aimed to provide a "reliable, seamless and integrated mass transit system that would be at par with international standards" through the unification of already-existing rail infrastructure under one transit system and fare structure. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
Manila Light Rail Transit System
The Manila Light Rail Transit System, popularly known as the LRT, is a metropolitan rail system serving the Metro Manila area in the Philippines. Although referred to as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it has many characteristics of a rapid transit system, such...
(LRT), the Manila Metro Rail Transit System
Manila Metro Rail Transit System
The Metro Rail Transit is Metro Manila's third rapid transit line. It forms part of the Strong Republic Transit System, which includes the Manila Light Rail Transit System. The line operates under the name Metrostar Express and is colored blue on rail maps.The line is located along the Epifanio de...
(MRT) and the Philippine National Railways
Philippine National Railways
The Philippine National Railways , or PNR, is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines, operating a single line of track on Luzon. As of 2010, it operates one commuter rail service in Metro Manila and a second in the Bicol Region. PNR restored its intercity service to the Bicol region in 2011...
(PNR) Northrail and Southrail lines were covered by the SRTS project. The program was not continued by Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III , also known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a Filipino politician who has been the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010....
, although his administration may continue the stalled Northrail project in a reconfigured way.
Links
The SRTS project provided for seven "links", i.e. interchange stationInterchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system, and allows passengers to change from one route to another. Transfer may occur within the same mode, or between rail modes, or to buses...
s where commuters would be able to seamlessly transfer from one line to the other. When the program was initiated four links were in use (see table and map). The Santa Mesa and Recto Link were added in 2004, when the already under construction Puple Line
Manila LRT Purple Line
The Manila LRT Purple Line is the second line of the Manila Light Rail Transit System. The line contains eleven stations and runs over 13.8 kilometers of mostly elevated track, with the exception of Katipunan station, which is underground...
was extended. The Northrail project has been cancelled, as a result the Caloocan Link is missing. The closing of the loop has almost been completed by extending the Yellow line with five new stations, unlike originally outlined by the plan. The Yellow would require one more station make a connection via the the so-called North Avenue Link to North Avenue MRT Station
North Avenue MRT Station
North Avenue MRT-3 Station, also called North for short, is a station on the Manila MRT Blue Line . North Avenue is one of the many elevated stations that can be found on the line...
. In order of operation the following links have been realized:
| Link | Lines and stations | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blumentritt Link | Yellow Line | Blumentritt Blumentritt LRT Station Blumentritt LRT Station is a station on the Manila LRT Yellow Line . Like all other LRT-1 stations, Blumentritt station is above-ground. The station serves Sampaloc in Manila. The station itself is located near Blumentritt Street, which the station was named after... |
Orange Line | Blumentritt Blumentritt railway station Blumentritt station is a station on the South Main Line of the Philippine National Railways. Like all PNR stations, it is at grade... |
| Pasay Link | Yellow Line | EDSA EDSA LRT Station EDSA LRT Station is a station on the Manila LRT Yellow Line . Like all other LRT-1 stations, EDSA station is above-ground. The station is located on the intersection of Taft Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, or EDSA, one of Metro Manila's main thoroughfares... |
Blue Line | Taft Avenue Taft Avenue MRT Station Taft Avenue MRT Station is a station on the Manila MRT Blue Line , and is the only MRT station in Pasay City. Like all other MRT stations, Taft Avenue is above-ground, although it is the only station that is at grade, lying directly on flat ground... |
| Magallanes Link | Blue Line | Magallanes Magallanes MRT Station Magallanes MRT Station is a station on the Manila MRT Blue Line . It is one of the many elevated stations found on the line. The station is named after the Magallanes district of Makati City, which in turn is named after Ferdinand Magellan, who discovered the Philippines for Spain on April 15, 1521... |
Orange Line | EDSA EDSA railway station EDSA station is a station on the South Main Line of the Philippine National Railways. Like all PNR stations, this station is at grade... |
| Cubao Link | Purple Line | Araneta Center-Cubao Araneta Center-Cubao LRT Station Araneta Center-Cubao LRT Station, usually called Cubao LRT Station, is a station on the Manila LRT Purple Line . The station is located in Cubao in Quezon City and is named because of its location in the district of the same name and its location near the famed Araneta Center, one of the... |
Blue Line | Cubao Araneta Center-Cubao MRT Station Araneta Center-Cubao MRT Station, usually called Cubao MRT Station, is a station on the Manila MRT Blue Line . Araneta Center-Cubao station is one of the many elevated stations that can be found on the line... |
| Santa Mesa Link | Purple Line | Pureza Pureza LRT Station Pureza LRT Station is a station on the Manila Light Rail Transit Purple Line . Pureza station is one of the many elevated stations that can be found on the line... |
Orange Line | Santa Mesa Santa Mesa railway station Santa Mesa station is a station on the South Main Line of the Philippine National Railways. Like all PNR stations, the station is at grade. It is located on an unnamed road near Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard in Santa Mesa, Manila, making it one of two stations to have its own access road... |
| Recto Link | Purple Line | Recto Recto LRT Station Recto LRT Station is a station on the Manila LRT Purple Line . Recto station is one of the many elevated stations that can be found on the line. The station is located in Santa Cruz in Manila. The station is named after C.M. Recto Avenue, where the station sits above it. The avenue in turn is... |
Yellow Line | Doroteo Jose Doroteo Jose LRT Station Doroteo Jose LRT Station is a station on the Manila LRT Yellow Line . Like all other LRT-1 stations, Doroteo Jose station station is above-ground. The station is located in Santa Cruz in Manila, on Rizal Avenue and slightly past Doroteo Jose Street... |
| Caloocan Link (not in use) | Yellow Line | Caloocan Caloocan railway station Caloocan railway station is a defunct railway station that is situated on the Northrail line, where services of Philippine National Railways and its precursors used to halt. It was situated in Apolinario Mabini St., beside Sangandaan Police Station... |
Green Line | Caloocan Caloocan railway station Caloocan railway station is a defunct railway station that is situated on the Northrail line, where services of Philippine National Railways and its precursors used to halt. It was situated in Apolinario Mabini St., beside Sangandaan Police Station... |
Fare integration
The project aimed to unify fare systems on the lines through the use of contactless smart cardContactless smart card
A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps...
s, similar to the Octopus card
Octopus card
The Octopus card is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and the EZ-Link
EZ-Link
The EZ-Link card is a contactless smart card based on the Sony FeliCa smartcard technology and used for the payment of public transportation fares in Singapore, with limited use in the small payments retail sector...
card in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The integrated system has not been implemented, as the project was dropped. A weekly ticket which is valid on LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 lines has been introduced in 2004 though. For ₱
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
250 one can make an unlimited number of rides per day on any of the three existing LRT/MRT lines during one calendar week with the so-called Flash Pass Card .
See also
- List of Strong Republic Transit System stations
- Manila Light Rail Transit SystemManila Light Rail Transit SystemThe Manila Light Rail Transit System, popularly known as the LRT, is a metropolitan rail system serving the Metro Manila area in the Philippines. Although referred to as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it has many characteristics of a rapid transit system, such...
- Manila Metro Rail Transit SystemManila Metro Rail Transit SystemThe Metro Rail Transit is Metro Manila's third rapid transit line. It forms part of the Strong Republic Transit System, which includes the Manila Light Rail Transit System. The line operates under the name Metrostar Express and is colored blue on rail maps.The line is located along the Epifanio de...
- Philippine National RailwaysPhilippine National RailwaysThe Philippine National Railways , or PNR, is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines, operating a single line of track on Luzon. As of 2010, it operates one commuter rail service in Metro Manila and a second in the Bicol Region. PNR restored its intercity service to the Bicol region in 2011...