The Department of Transportation proposed to reintroduce the railway system for Metro Cebu which was presented by DoTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan to Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia recently.

Dubbed as Metro Cebu Urban Transport Master Plan, the DoTr said that it eyes to build a 67.5-kilometer underground passenger railway or subway system that will connect Carcar City in the south to Danao City in the north.

Cebu had its railway system that connected Argao in the south to Danao in the north but was severely damaged during the Second World War.

Batan told Garcia that the proposal is similar to the ongoing construction of the 33-kilometer Metro Manila Subway in the National Capital Region.

“We are excited about the possibility of another first... potentially the first subway that will be entirely financed by the local government through various funding strategies and without requiring national government funding,” Batan said.

“The beauty of the subway as first seen in the subway in Metro Manila is that between stations, we are tunneling underground and people don’t even know that we are already building underground, and that is what we are planning to do in Cebu,” he added.

Meantime, Garcia proposed that it will allow Cebu LGUs to take on the implementation of the proposed project, while the DoTr will maintain supervisory control.

Under the Metro Cebu Urban Transport Master Plan in 2019, the railway-based transport backbone was identified as a crucial transportation system to address Cebu’s growing need for mass transit.

The proposed subway system aims to reduce traffic congestion and travel time, improve interconnection and passenger and commuter service, increase climate resiliency, and provide a more accessible public transportation for vulnerable groups and persons with limited mobility.

Garcia said that the masterplan has two phases — Phase 1 will be the Urban Mass Rapid Transport Central Line that will connect Danao City, Compostela, Liloan, Consolacion, Mandaue City, Cebu City, Talisay City, Minglanilla, City of Naga, San Fernando and Carcar City.

Phase 2, on the other hand, will be UMRT Coastal Line that will connect Talisay City, Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City.

The provincial government of Cebu will introduce the project to private firms through its Economic Enterprise Council for a possible PPP collaboration, subject to the rules and regulations set by law.