The Metro Rail Transit Line 9, or MRT-9, also known the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), or commonly known as the Metro Manila Subway is an under-construction underground rapid transit line in Metro Manila, Philippines. The line, which will run north–south between Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque and Pasay, consists of 17 stations between the and stations. It will become the country's second direct airport rail link after the North–South Commuter Railway, with a branch line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Dubbed as the country's "Project of the Century", the Metro Manila Subway broke ground on February 27, 2019, and construction began the following December. Subsequently, suffering delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the line was scheduled to fully open in 2029. The project is expected to cost ₱355.6billion (equivalent to USD in 2017). Much of its cost is covered by a loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). However, it is unlikely to be completed during Bongbong Marcos's administration due to right of way problems; operations are expected to begin in 2032.
The Metro Manila Subway is planned to be integrated with the public transit system in Metro Manila. Passengers may take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses and jeepneys, to and from a station to reach their intended destination. The line is designed to connect with other urban rail transit services in the region; riders may transfer to LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3, and MRT Line 7 at the nearby North Triangle Common Station, which is also currently under construction. Other connections include the existing LRT Line 2 and NSCR, as well as the MRT Line 4 and MRT Line 8.
The line is projected to serve 370,000 passengers per day in the short term, with longer term growth leading to a projected 1.5 million passengers of daily ridership.
History Background +Comparison between MMSP and former proposals1973 UTSMMA1976 JICA2014/2015 JICAMMSPLine no.FromToLengthLine no.FromToLengthRoute nameFromToLengthSchemeFromToLength1Quezon Memorial, Quezon CityManila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport), Parañaque21.7 km1University of the Philippines, Quezon CityManila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport), Parañaque25.2 kmMass Transit System LoopBonifacio Global City, TaguigTaft Avenue, Pasay20 km (11 km)2017 proposalQuirino Highway, Quezon CityFTI, Taguig25 km2Manotoc Subdivision, Novaliches Quezon CityPasig25.6 km2Novaliches, Quezon CityGuadalupe, MakatiN/AMega Manila SubwayCaloocanDasmarinas, Cavite59 km2019 proposalUgong, ValenzuelaFTI, Taguig/NAIA Terminal 333 km3Sangandaan, CaloocanRoxas Boulevard, Pasay23.0 km3MalabonRoxas Boulevard, PasayN/A colspan="8" rowspan="3" 4Baclaran, Parañaque Cubao, Quezon City19.0 km4 Baclaran, ParañaqueCubao, Quezon CityN/A5Tutuban, ManilaMarulas, Valenzuela8.0 km5Tutuban, ManilaMarulas, ValenzuelaN/A
Early proposals and studies The idea of building a subway in the Greater Manila Area had been forwarded as early as 1973, when the JICA (at the time known as the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency or OTCA) and former Secretary of Public Works and Highways David Consunji conducted a study on what shall later be Metro Manila (formally constituted on November 7, 1975). The 1973 plan was known as the Urban Transport Study in Manila Metropolitan Area (UTSMMA).
The 1973 plan provided for the construction of five heavy rail subway lines in Metro Manila. The first line (Line 1) would have a length of , running from Constitution Hills (now Batasan Hills), Quezon City to Talon, Las Piñas. The second line (Line 2), meanwhile, would be long from Novaliches, Quezon City to Cainta, Rizal, while Line 3 for throughout Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. The fourth line (Line 4) would have been long from Marikina to Zapote, Bacoor, and the fifth line would have a length of from Rizal Avenue, Manila to Meycauayan, Bulacan. The plan would have resolved the traffic problems of Metro Manila and would have taken 15 years to complete, or until 1988.
In 1975, a Reuters report said Manila was having traffic problems as many people feared that the population would grow, the number of commuters would increase, and there would be one day with only people on the streets with no vehicles. Also, it says that the team from JICA is studying the project that recommended the subway system and was expected to cost about US$930 million.
In 1976, JICA conducted a feasibility study of the line, known as Rapid Transit Railway (RTR) Line 1. The study proposed a tentative route from Manila International Airport (MIA), now Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), to the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, totaling . With the planned completion dates between 1983 and 2000 for that line with four stages, the other lines would have been constructed as part of the RTR network: Line 2 would connect Novaliches in Quezon City to Guadalupe, Makati; Line 3 would connect Malabon to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay; Line 4 would connect Baclaran in Parañaque to Cubao in Quezon City; and Line 5 would connect Binondo to Marulas in Valenzuela. Also, Pacific Consultants International and the Japan Overseas Consultants participated as a study team. According to some critics of the LRT Line 1 that was built instead of the RTR Line 1, Marcos decided against the subway after being convinced by his advisers that the line could not be completed before Singapore finished its own first line.
It was also proposed to be part of the 1977 Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (MMETROPLAN), which was funded by the World Bank. However, the plan was not included and implemented, for some of the areas included in the plan, such as Marikina and Cainta, are prone to flooding. Instead, what was built was the LRT Line 1, opened on December 1, 1984, and completed on May 12, 1985. According to Felino Palafox, the LRT was the most feasible transport system at that time. Nevertheless, the current Manila Light Rail Transit System (mostly elevated) is shorter than the line system forwarded in 1973.
Proposals in the 1990s and 2000s In 1995, the Mexican firm Grupo ICA, which also constructed the Mexico City Metro, was in talks with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build a subway in the Philippines. In 1998, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC, later DOTr) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JK International Ltd. to conduct a feasibility study of a subway project; a route would have been linked between Port of Manila and NAIA. In 2001, Italian firms Grandi Lavori Fincosit and Societa Esecuzione Lavori Idraulici signed an agreement with the DOTC, for a MOU. The tunnel section of the subway would connect Bonifacio Global City (BGC), going through EDSA and connecting the Ortigas, Greenhills, and Shaw Boulevard commercial centers. However, when former President Joseph Estrada resigned from office in the same year, the project never materialized.
Planning in the 2010s The project was proposed once more in the 2014 Metro Manila Dream Plan as a line that would serve as the second north–south mass transit backbone for the newly expanded Greater Capital Region (the first being the North–South Commuter Railway). The Metro Manila Dream Plan (formally titled the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas) is an integrated plan based on recommendations from a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board in June 2014, to last until 2030. The program aims to improve the transport system in Metro Manila with the hope of turning it into a focal point for addressing Metro Manila's interlinked problems in the areas of transportation, land use, and environment.
In September of that year, British subway contractor Arup presented its profile to the DOTC in case the agency decides to build a subway system in Metro Manila, an official of the Makati Business Club said. Applied Planning & Infrastructure Inc., in association with MKL Associates, proposed a version of the subway plan and conducted a business case as a private initiative for the project known as the Manila Central Subway. They lay out the definite alignment of the first , approximate the next 150 km, and guess the last ; the first 150 km are to be further subdivided into workable segments of each. Locate optimal sites for subway stations and determine their basic requirements at least for the first 150 km; hire top-level consultants to prepare detailed engineering designs for the initial 150 km of tubes and various stations, optimal performance standards, environmental impact, economic and social benefits, value for money, and geotechnical and other technical analyses. The proposed lines are: the red line would run from North Triangle Common Station to Mall of Asia, while the extensions would lead to Tutuban and Taft Avenue MRT station; the brown line would connect NLEX in Valenzuela to FTI (using the same alignment as MMS Phase 1), and the extension would lead to Alabang; the blue line express would run along between the two lines; and finally, the green line would connect from Manila Bay to Tikling Junction, while the extensions would lead to Taytay and Holy Spirit, Quezon City.
A year later, JICA published an information collection survey for the project, and the subway was to have of route from Caloocan to Dasmarinas, Cavite, and the C4 route is the most suitable option. Meanwhile, the first phase is from Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway in Quezon City to FTI in Taguig; Phase 2 leads to Bagong Silang, Caloocan, up north; and Governor's Drive, Dasmarinas, is . Also, the intermodal terminal building was to be located at Market! Market! in BGC and to cater buses, jeepneys, and taxis at this terminal.
Development In 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority approved the construction of the Makati-Pasay-Taguig Mass Transit System Loop Line 5 (MTSL Line 5), which would have been a underground railway from BGC to Taft Avenue, as identified in the JICA study. Despite the fact that the route is long, it passes through the central business districts. The project was to be funded through the public-private partnership scheme, but after former President Benigno Aquino III stepped down from office, the project stalled and was revived again by his successor, Rodrigo Duterte. In January 2017, JICA was keen on developing a MTSL project, and in the same year, the Metro Manila Subway (then known as the Mega Manila Subway) was launched and included in the administration's Build! Build! Build! program.
In August of that year, JICA published the preparatory survey for the project, which means the alignment would have run from Quirino Highway to FTI along C-5. The alignment did not have a route to NAIA before it was revised.
The development of the project was approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) board of the National Economic and Development Authority on September 6, subject to secondary approval by the NEDA Board. The development was approved by the NEDA Board headed by President Duterte six days later. On March 16, 2018, the Philippine and Japanese governments signed a loan agreement for the subway. The first tranche of the official development assistance from JICA amounted to ¥104.5 billion (). The second tranche of the loan, signed on February 10, 2022, amounted to ¥253.3 billion (). On March 26, 2024, the third tranche of the loan was signed, amounting to ¥150 billion ().