<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">no kidding...<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR> <DIV id=yiv240500180> <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"> <DIV id=yiv240500180yiv2049836095> <STYLE type=text/css></STYLE> <DIV> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center> <TBODY> <TR> <TD bgColor=#ffffff height="100%" vAlign=top width="100%"> <TABLE style="TABLE-LAYOUT: fixed" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center height="100%"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width=10></TD> <TD style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; OVERFLOW: hidden" vAlign=top> <TABLE style="WHITE-SPACE: normal" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD height=10></TD></TR> <TR> <TD><FONT style="FONT-FAMILY: tahoma, new york, times, serif; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10px" color=#000000 size=2 face="tahoma, new york, times, serif"> <DIV> <DIV><FONT size=5><STRONG>UP Diliman to have light rail transport</STRONG></FONT> <BR><A href="http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2011/january/3/news4.isx&d=2011/january/3" rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2011/january/3/news4.isx&d=2011/january/3</A></DIV> <DIV><BR>by Rio N. Araja <BR><BR>A TWO-KILOMETER monorail is on the drawing board to serve the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus and nearby areas in Quezon City starting this year, the Science Department said over the weekend.<BR><BR>The department will build the planned electric monorail, to be called automated guideway transit, in a joint venture with the UP management, <STRONG>Secretary Mario Montejo</STRONG> told the Manila Standard.<BR><BR>The monorail is expected to complement the jeepney shuttle service plying the 493-hectare Diliman campus, which has a student population exceeding 23,000. The Diliman area extends up to Katipunan Avenue, the site of the Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College and other private schools.<BR><BR>P50 million has been earmarked for the project, including the construction of a 500-meter test track within the campus in April, Montejo said. <BR><BR>The monorail will use two electric coaches with a capacity of 60 passengers each and an estimated cost of P10 million. <BR><BR>The department’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center will build the coaches and the test track. Private groups will be asked to bid for the construction of the two-kilometer track.<BR><BR>The proposed mass transit will be similar to the people-moving systems in the airports in Beijing and Miami in Florida, Montejo said.<BR><BR>“The [Science Department] is on top of the project to develop a low-cost mass transport system. That is our primary purpose,” he said.<BR><BR>The rail transit initially will ply the passenger-rich UP campus in the Diliman and Philcoa area. It will have a provision for a link-up with the planned light rail transit line to be built in the Commonwealth-Katipunan area. <BR><BR>The Science Department will foot the P50-million bill to develop the mass transit system, including the construction of the first 500-meter track, Montejo said. <BR><BR>“The Department will look for more funds to bankroll the remaining 1.5 kilometer network,” he said.<BR><BR>President Benigno Aquino III is bullish about the project, Montejo said. <BR><BR>“He is looking forward to the success of the project,” he said. <BR><BR>The UP administration is tasked to hold public consultations with various stakeholders, such as the jeepney drivers plying the UP-Philcoa route and the community, before the project goes fully operational.<BR><BR>Assistant Secretary Roberto Dizon said the department and the UP administration firmed up their joint venture by way of a memorandum of understanding. <BR><BR>“We are building a test track and the target completion is April 2011,” Dizon said.<BR></DIV></DIV></FONT></TD></TR> <TR> <TD height=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD> <TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#ffffff height=70 background=http://mail.yimg.com/a/a/stationery/static/liam_crowdsurfer_bottom.gif></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><BR> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br>