Metro Manila is the first subway system in the Philippines

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]The population of the Metro Manila capital region and its neighboring cities/province of Bulacan, Reisel, Cavita and Lagona had rapidly increased from 1293000 in year 1990 to 2,740,000 in year 2015. This expansion of the urbanized area resulted in severe traffic congestion which in turn is hampering smooth logistic and movement of people. In order to solve this problem, development of a mass rapid public transport is urgently needed. The Metro Manila subway is to become the first subway in the Philippine. It starts from Venuela City and connect to Naakino International Airport. After traversing seven cities, Venuela, Quesan City, Pasig, Makatti, Parano, Paz, and Tagwig located in the highly urbanized area of the Metro Manila. A depot and a training center for the staff is to be constructed in Venezuela. Before reaching NIA, the subway line branches out in Parano City to connect to the north south commuter railway. 17 stations are also to be constructed.

[00:01:08]This subway project requires huge construction and the tasks of the detailed design for this project require wide variety of expertise including civil works such as tunnel architecture such as for stations and training facility, railroad facilities, electric power, procurement of rolling sticks as well as operation of the subway. In order to enable participation of such wide variety of expert, a joint venture of seven firms were formed. The Manila Metro Project, the Philippines first underground mass transit system. This 33 km line includes 17 stations. It runs from Venzuela City to Picoten in Parano City with a branch line to terminal 3 at Nino Yakino International Airport. Major funding is provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JITSA.

[00:02:00]The project currently aims for trial operation by 2028. Full passenger service is expected between 2031 and 2032. The 17 station line spans eight local government units. Venzuela, Quesan City, Pasig, Mate, Parano, Pasai, and Tagwig. Once the subway is fully operational, travel time between Kesan City and Nino Ayakino International Airport is expected to decrease from over an hour to just 35 minutes. The system is designed to accommodate between 519,000 and 1.5 million passengers daily.