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DOST awards AGT test track to Miescor

Thursday, June 21, 2012 05:16 AM    Views : 4279by:George Robert Valencia III -S&T Media Service, STII

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has awarded the P22 million-worth contract to Miescor Builders Inc. to construct 465-meter test tack of the first all-Filipino mass transport—the automated Guideway Transit System—in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. The ceremonial awarding was done during the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) Metals and Engineering (M&E) Week Conference at the Traders Hotel on June 19, 2012.

Miescor Builders Inc.,is a leading construction and engineering company wholly owned by the Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corp.

The AGTS in UP Diliman will run on a track that curves from the CP Garcia Avenue near the CHED building to the area of the College of Arts building.

"This will be the future of mass transport systems made by Filipinos," DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said.

The AGTS is one of DOST's high-impact technology solutions and is the first among DOST's several proposed public transportation systems for Metro Manila, Sec. Montejo added.

Composing the project team are engineers from DOST-MIRDC, UP Diliman, and the Project Management Engineering and Design Service Office (PMEDSO). The team aims to create a fully-automated, driverless electric transportation that travels on an elevated guideway.

The guideway will stand at an elevation of 6.1 meters supported by high-quality concrete material, while the train body will be composed of two adjoining coaches, each having 30-people capacity. Also, the coaches will roll on rubber tires instead of metal wheels to minimize track noise, and will have bogies to ensure comfort and stability.

According to Engr. Jonathan Q. Puerto, Officer-in-Charge of the office of the Deputy Executive Director of DOST-MIRDC, the test track in UP Diliman will help MIRDC to fine-tune the technology's mechanisms and operation, which include speed, stability, brake distance and power, among others.

"If all goes as planned in the construction of the guideway, we will be able to initiate the testing in October," said Engr. Puerto.

Aside from being locally developed, the DOST's AGTS is environmentally sound as it is non-polluting. It is also reliable because it is fully automated, and safe because the elevated guideway will not get derailed or cause road accidents. The AGT also helps reduce traffic congestion and its economic costs.

Some countries that are reaping benefits from the AGTS technology at present include the United States, Japan, Singapore and Canada.

"If these countries can do it, so can the Philippines," Sec. Montejo said.

The AGTS project is monitored by the DOST's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

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The Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) has awarded the P22-million worth contract to Miescor Builders, Inc to construct the 465-meter test track of the Automated Guideway Transit System (AGTS) in the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus. DOST MIRDC Director Engr. Arthur Lucas D. Cruz (middle, left) and Miescor Builders, Inc..President Jesus P. Francisco (middle, right) signed the contract during the Metals and Engineering (M&E) Week Conference on June 19, 2012 at Traders Hotel. (Photo by Gerardo Palad)

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The Filipino Automated Guideway Transit System (AGTS) will be composed of two connected coaches that will roll on an elevated guideway The technology is driverless, reliable, and environmentally sound, and is an established mode of transportation in countries like the United States, Japan, and Canada. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will use locally-available materials in the construction of the AGTS. and will begin its testing in the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus on October 2012. (Image by DOST-PMEDSO)

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