PHILIPPINES: The Department of Transportation has selected a consortium of China Railways Design Corp and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co for a 3·1bn pesos contract to provide project management consultancy services for development of the proposed railway on the southern island of Mindanao.
An initial 102 km route is proposed, with eight stations at Tagum, Carmen, Panabo, Mudiang, Davao, Toril, Santa Cruz and Diogos, a heavy maintenance depot at Tagum and a light maintenance depot at Davao.
The single track non-electrified 1 435 mm gauge railway would be designed for mixed traffic operation with passenger trains running at up to 120 km/h and freight trains at 80 km/h, with an axleload of 25 tonnes.
Passenger services would be provided using a fleet of 23 two-car diesel multiple-units with provision for extension to four and eventually eight cars per train.
The estimated 82·9bn pesos cost of the project is to be financed through official development assistance from the Chinese government.
The Tagum – Diogos line is intended as the first stage of a proposed 1 544 km network on the island, connecting cities including Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Butuan, Surigao, and Malaybalay.
