Manila plans elevated railway

Manila plans elevated railway

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Marubeni Corp. and Toshiba Corp. have won a 20-billion-yen (US$188-million) contract to build an elevated railway in the congested Philippine capital Manila, Marubeni said Friday.

The two firms received the order for rolling stock, maintenance and operating systems from the Philippine public railway corporation, said a spokesman for trading house Marubeni.

The contract is for an east-west elevated railway in Manila running for 14 kilometers (8.7 miles), aimed at helping to ease the Philippine capital's choking traffic congestion, the spokesman said.

Marubeni and electronics giant Toshiba will build a system with 72 carriages and a daily capacity of 600,000 people.

Construction will begin in October and the elevated railway is planned to be completed by 2004.