The Light Rail Transit Line 6 is a proposed
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
system in
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
, Philippines.
There have been two proposals for the line, with the first one shelved immediately in 2018.
Another proposal emerged in 2017 and is currently under review by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Background and history
The province of
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
is known as a "
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
" for those who work in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
. Over the recent decades,
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
has been widespread in the country and
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
has been most evident within the
Greater Manila Area
The Greater Manila Area () is the contiguous urbanization region surrounding the Metro Manila, Metropolitan Manila area of the Philippines. This built-up zone includes Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces of Bulacan to the north, Cavite and ...
. The LRT Line 6 aims to provide
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
options to 45 percent of Cavite's population which are concentrated on the cities of
Bacoor
Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 ...
,
Imus
Imus (), officially the City of Imus (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and ''de jure'' Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...
and
Dasmariñas.
Early trains in Cavite
Trains belonging to the
Manila Railroad Company
The Manila Railroad Company (MRR) was a Filipino state-owned enterprise responsible for the management and operation of rail transport in the island of Luzon. It was originally established by an English people, Englishman named Edmund Sykes as t ...
previously plied the Naic line from
Paco station in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
to Naic station in
Naic, Cavite. The
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line was opened in 1909 by the virtue of Insular Government Act No. 1905. It had 19 stations over of track. There was also a branch line to
Cavite City
Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( and ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people.
The city was the capital of Cavite, ...
which would have branched off at
Noveleta. Some of these trains passed by once towns of
Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
and
Las Piñas
Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, as well as
Bacoor
Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 ...
in Cavite. The line ended operation by 1936 and much of the line has been built over in the following decades, such as the expansion of the
Nichols Field. Some of the historical right-of-way is now shared between the
Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base and
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...
.
1990s proposal
There were no plans to rebuild a line to Cavite until the 1990s, when the 1993 Updated Traffic and Transport Management Plan, which proposes the network of five LRT lines, including the sixth line that would run from
Baclaran to
Zapote in
Las Piñas
Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
for , was proposed by the Public Estates Authority (PEA, now the Philippine Reclamation Authority), and the Australia-based TGM completed the pre-feasibility study in 1997.
The project was also identified in the Metro Manila Urban Transportation Integration Study by the
Japan International Cooperation Agency
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
in 1999.
LRT Line 1 Cavite extension
In 2004, Canadian firm
SNC-Lavalin proposed an extension of the existing Line 1 to Cavite. However, the Arroyo administration rejected the study in 2005. In 2012, the
LRT Line 1 south extension project as a
public-private partnership project. It aims to extend the line to
Bacoor
Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 ...
, Cavite with a target start of construction in 2014 and opening date in mid-2015. However, the bidding process failed and the government repeatedly postponed the project starting in 2013. It was not until 2019 when construction for the LRT Line 1 extension commenced and is currently 61.60% complete as of December 2021. The line in its current form has a targeted partial opening date on November 16, 2024 and will be fully operational by 2031.
First Line 6 proposal
The first mention of a separate LRT Line 6 in Cavite was when then-president
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...
approved the construction of the LRT Line 6 in Cavite after a
National Economic and Development Authority board meeting on September 6, 2015. The project would have cost an estimated
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared towards web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by the PHP Group. ...
64 billion or
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
1.42 billion.
In December of that year, the Department of Transportation and Communications (later the
Department of Transportation) started bidding by inviting interested firms to bid on the project. But there were repeatedly delays due to deadlines being extended several times in 2016.
Although sixteen firms showed interest in the LRT Line 6 project by sending representatives to a pre-qualification conference last February, namely: Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.;
Ayala Corporation
Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...
;
Bombardier; CFP Transaction Advisors; Daelim Industrial Company Ltd. (now
DL E&C);
DMCI;
Egis; First Metro Investments Corporation; Metro Builders Corporation;
Metro Pacific Investments;
Mott MacDonald;
Ove Arup & Partners; Prime Asset Ventures, Inc.;
Robinsons Land;
San Miguel Corporation
San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...
; and
SYSTRA.
The first proposal was described as a
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line along the route of the
Aguinaldo Highway. It will start from Niog station, which is separate from the
Line 1 station and the two lines will not share tracks. The next stations will be Tirona, Imus, and Daang Hari stations in
Imus
Imus (), officially the City of Imus (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and ''de jure'' Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...
; and Salitran, Congressional Avenue, and Governor's Drive in Dasmariñas.
Procurement of rolling stock to facilitate operations, and rolling stock was expected to be
electric multiple units using
overhead catenary
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
traction power.
This project however was shelved indefinitely in 2018, citing issues such as
right-of-way and congestion along that highway.
Modified Line 6A and 6B+C proposal
In 2018,
Villar-led Prime Asset Ventures Inc. came up with an alternative proposal for the said railway line. The new mainline consists of 23.5 km (14.6 mi) long, nine (9) stations, passing through the less congested arterial road of Molino–Paliparan Road, including the large-scale vacant properties in Bacoor and Dasmariñas, Cavite. The new proposal will branch out its railway network in Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Parañaque where large-scale subdivisions are situated. As of December 2020, the proposal has passed the stringent qualifications set by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the cou ...
, prompting to issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) on February 7, 2020. The project is now under review by the NEDA-ICC alongside other unsolicited proposals such as the
Metro Manila SkyTrain and the
MRT Line 10. Unless stated otherwise, the entire line will be most likely a separate line from Line 1, like the previous proposal.
Proposed stations
The present Line 6 proposal is long, with 9 stations as part of the initial proposal. The main line is so-called ''Modified Line 6'', formerly called ''Line 6A''. It is long, starting at Niog station that is connected to the LRT Line 1 Cavite extension and ending at Governor's Drive station. Due to alignment changes, the new Governor's Drive station in
Dasmariñas is relocated to Barangay Paliparan, east of the original station in Pala-Pala area in Barangay Sampaloc I.
There would be also
an extension of the line to Tagaytay, although only this section of the line has been presented to the government.
Three stations have been named after locations outside the line's actual right of way: San Pedro, Alabang and GMA. San Pedro being named after the city of
San Pedro, Laguna, Alabang after the
eponymous
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
in
Muntinlupa
Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
, and GMA station after the town of
General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite. It was however stated in the unsolicited proposal that Alabang Line 6 station is actually located in Barangay Molino IV in Bacoor, while San Pedro will be located in
Salawag and GMA in Paliparan IV, both are barangays of Dasmariñas.
Expansion
Both the Filipino proponents and the Japanese consultants also included their proposed expanded network to their documents. It includes Line 6B, an
airport rail link
An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...
extension of Line 6 to
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...
; Line 6C, a
spur line near the Parañaque–Muntinlupa border; Line 6D, another spur line to Alabang, near the
Alabang station of the
Philippine National Railways; and the Line 6 extension to Tagaytay.
Line 6D is also being developed by the Japanese firm as a separate line.
Altogether, the combined line length is at approximately with a combined track length of around .
According to the 2020 Japanese study, the expansion is set to be completed by 2040.
Line 6B
Line 6B will run between
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...
in
Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...
and San Nicolas Line 6A station in Bacoor, Cavite. The line is long with 10 stations and will have a
single track section between NAIA and
Sucat Road.
Line 6C
Line 6C will run along the right-of-way of
Dr. Santos Avenue in Parañaque. A 6-station spur of Line 6B, it will split with Line 6B between Canaynay and El Grande stations. While a majority of the area would not have a right-of-way issue for an elevated railway, a two-way ramp leading to the Sucat exit of the
Metro Manila Skyway will cause a section of the line leading to Lake Front station to be built as an
underpass
A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic.
Terminology
In the United States, as ...
.
Line 6D
Line 6D is connected to Line 6B at Marcos–Alvarez station in Las Piñas. It will be with 4 stations along the
Alabang–Zapote Road
Alabang–Zapote Road is a four-lane national road which travels east–west through the southern limits of Metro Manila, Philippines. It runs parallel to Dr. Santos Avenue in the north and is named after the two barangays it links: Alabang, Mu ...
in Las Piñas and
Muntinlupa
Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
. This line will have a targeted opening date by 2030.
This branch in particular is also the subject of the Japanese feasibility study published by METI in 2020. Line 6D's Starmall station is located on a vacant lot beside Alabang exit of the
South Luzon Expressway. The study also proposed a footbridge connection to the future
Alabang station of the
North–South Commuter Railway. It is also proposed to be converted into a separate line in the future named the Alabang–Zapote Line. Once this extension is approved, the Alabang–Zapote Line will reach the
Cavite Economic Zone in
Rosario, Cavite
Rosario, officially the Municipality of Rosario (), is a municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 110,807 people.
Etymology
There are three religious versions for naming the tow ...
. The total length would also be at . The expansion is targeted to be completed by 2040.
Technical
Rolling stock
The line will use electric multiple units that will be powered through overhead lines, but the type of the rolling stock used remains unspecified. In the 2015 study, Line 6 trains will use electrification, similar to
LRT Line 1 as well as some
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
and
light rapid transit
A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS trains are usually 1 to 4 cars. Most medi ...
systems used overseas. The trainsets will also be arranged into a four-car formation reflective of newer-generation
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
vehicles (LRVs) used on Line 1. The use of the term "commuter rail" for the rolling stock made it ambiguous as to whether or not the line will use LRVs or high-capacity trainsets.
In the 2019 proposal, it is also left unspecified as to use LRVs or rapid transit trainsets. The project proposes to use a single-articulated, six-axle, standard floor car type with eight passenger doorways (four on each side). Vehicles will be capable of multiple unit operations. consisting of up to four cars with a total length of 100 m, while each end of the car will be equipped with an operator’s position. Each car will have a passenger capacity of 347 and an operating speed ranging from 35 to 70 km/h.
An
automated guideway transit
An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more dri ...
was also given as an option for Line 6D in the 2020 Japanese study presented by METI. The 2020 study also recommended the use of 4-car trainsets as with the 2015 proposal. The 2020 study also made allowances for coupling two trains into 8-car sets. The maximum passenger capacity of the trainsets is at 300 per car or 1,200 people per set. In comparison, the
LRTA 13000 class
The LRTA 13000 class is a class of fourth-generation high-floor light rail vehicles (LRV) of the Light Rail Transit Authority servicing the LRT Line 1 (Metro Manila), LRT Line 1, manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, CAF. P ...
has a maximum capacity of 1,388 passengers. The use of the AGT, light rail vehicles, or heavy rail trainsets is currently under assessment by NEDA.
Station design
The 2020 study recommends that the line will use
island platform
An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...
s due to its compact size and costs less to construct. The design for the elevated stations will be based on the
Yurikamome
, formerly the , is an automated guideway transit service operated by ''Yurikamome, Inc.'' in Tokyo, Japan. It connects Shimbashi Station, Shimbashi to Toyosu Station, Toyosu, via the artificial island of Odaiba, a market in which it competes with ...
automated guideway transit
An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more dri ...
system in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. All elevated stations will feature ''eki-naka''
( ja) commercial development.
Three stations would be grade-separated by
embankment instead of being fully-elevated stations through a
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
. These are San Nicolas, Daang Hari, and Alabang stations. This is because these stations will be built over private property.
Lake Front station of Line 6C will also be built partially underground due to the conflicting pillars of the
Metro Manila Skyway Sucat exit ramp.
Other than these four stations, the line shall be built with a viaduct.
Line 6 system length
Notes
References
{{Urban Rail Transit in ASEAN
Line 6
Proposed public transportation in the Philippines
Light Rail Transit System Line 6
Transportation in Cavite
Light Rail Transit System Line 6
Transportation in Luzon