The Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications has awarded Mitsubishi Corporation and CAF a new rolling-stock supply contract for Manila Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line-1.

Worth 225 million euros, the contract is funded through a Japanese ODA (official development assistance) Loan Agreement “subscribed by the governments of Japan and the Philippines”.

Manila has one of the highest population densities in the world, and this project aims to improve the line capacity, cater for the growing number of passengers, improve service quality and help reduce pollution levels in the country’s capital city.

LRT Line-1 — an elevated-track line that is 20km long and crosses Manila from north to south — is currently being extended by 12km.

CAF’s (www.caf.net) contract includes the manufacture of 30 LRV units to be delivered within the period 2020-2022.

These units will be bi-directional trains with catenary power supply; they are designed to travel at up to 70kph.

The relationship between CAF and Mitsubishi Corporation has led to the development of several joint projects in recent years.

Some of these include the supply of automatic underground units for Istanbul (Turkey) and trams for Canberra (Australia). This is the first contract awarded to CAF in the Philippines.

CAF’s current order book includes the supply of trams for Stockholm, De Lijn, Consenza, Seattle and Kansas; and trains for the UK and New Zealand.

The company also confirms that it has been contracted to supply 10 six-car units for Line 1 of the Naples underground; this project was provisionally announced in mid 2016, when it was valued at about 90 million euros.