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Pinoy-built train system soon to serve UP Diliman community


The first Filipino-built Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) system will soon run on a two-kilometer test track within the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, Quezon City. Construction of the project will start after the July 18 ground-breaking ceremony, which will take place immediately after the signing at 8 a.m. of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) by representatives of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), and the UP administration.

Artist's sketch of the AGT prototype. Newsbytes
The Groundbreaking Ceremony will be at the Emilio Jacinto corner Lakandula Streets. Based on the January 2011 memorandum of understanding (MOU) – which resulted in a MOA – DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center will develop the AGT prototype with two 60-passenger coaches running on electricity all in one track. Under the MOU, the DOST will take charge of the design and detailed engineering plan of the AGT, while UP gives technical assistance and implements community relations activities. Aside from serving the UP Diliman community, the AGT is expected to be a harbinger of the future of mass transport systems developed and made locally by Filipinos. Expected to attend the July 18 MOA signing are Sen. Edgardo Angara, former UP President and Chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology; DOST Secretary Mario Montejo; and DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas. Advantages of AGT system According to the UP administration, AGT prototype will not only serve the UP Diliman community but will be a test case in the study of alternative mass transport systems to be set up in the country’s urban centers. Montejo earlier said the cost of studying and creating a local AGT system is only one-fifth of the cost of importing the facility. Also, he said the AGT design suits local conditions for mobility and could ease travel around highly populated urban centers, particularly Metro Manila and the rapidly industrializing adjacent provinces. The DOST stressed that AGT’s compact size allows it to be more aesthetic and less disruptive of the UP Diliman natural environment. Most importantly, the DOST said the AGT is people- and environment-friendly as it runs very quietly and smoke-free because it is powered by electricity. —Marlon Anthony Tonson/LBG, GMA News
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