THE Philippines Department of Transportation (DOTr) has appointed Ricardo as Shadow Operations Consultant for the construction of the 13km Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT4) from Ortigas Avenue to Taytay. The elevated MRT4 metro line will have 10 stations and will address the current congestion on Ortigas Avenue.

Ricardo Rail will prepare the network to be handed over to the operations and maintenance (O&M) concessionaire, helping the project’s designers and construction partners to incorporate the day-to-day needs of a modern rapid transit system during key decision points.

Ricardo’s responsibilities will range from helping to optimise whole-life costs such as technology and design recommendations that will influence future staffing requirements, to identifying operational risks and safety hazards, developing passenger flow models, and advising on recruitment, rostering and work scheduling.

Ricardo will also ensure appropriate operations and maintenance documentation is developed in readiness for a timely handover to the eventual concessionaire. Throughout the project Ricardo will be assisted by Seoul Metro, who bring direct experience of daily mass transit operations.

As well as improving connectivity between the populous southwestern municipalities of Rizal and Manila’s central district, the new route, with 11 stations, is expected to relieve congestion. The line will provide an end-to-end journey time of 30 minutes, compared with up to three hours by road during peak periods.

The line is expected to open in 2028. “The more than 400,000 passengers expected to ride the MRT 4 will be grateful that the perennial traffic problem along the stretch of Ortigas Avenue has been solved,” says transportation secretary, Mr Jaime J Bautista. “I am confident this collaboration between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the engineering consultants, the shadow operator consultant and DOTr will pave the way for the early start and on-time completion of this project.”

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