President Benigno Aquino III attended a test run of the first locally made Automated Gateway Transit (AGT) System at the University of the Philippines at Diliman.
The test run was along the 500 meter track from the College of Fine Arts up to the University Avenue. Also along for the ride were UP President Alfredo Pascual, Dept. of Scicence and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo and Alliance Global Group Inc. Chairman Andrew Tan.
The AGT at UPD is a test track for the DOST’s plan to implement an affordable mass transit system using locally manufactured trains. Among other innovations, it uses a monorail track, it has rubber wheels, it is able to make sharp turns, and it costs one-fifth that of the existing MRT and LRT lines. It is also planned to be used in shorter distances within congested high population or high-traffic areas.
As it is still under development, PNoy gave the comment that the ride was bumpy, although according to Sec. Montejo it was smoother than the test conducted in December. It was also noticeably quieter than the earlier test run, the Philippine Star reported.
