JICA Moots City Transit System

KHMER TIMES
MAY KUNMAKARA

Phnom Penh’s daily gridlock is caused by an unbridled increase in cars and motorcycles. KT/ Fabien Mouret

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is helping Cambodia conduct a feasibility study on an automated gateway transit system (AGT) to overcome Phnom Penh’s daily gridlock, caused by traffic congestion, during peak hours.

Hideaki Wase, an urban transportation advisor in JICA, told Khmer Times yesterday that the agency had finalized a comprehensive urban transportation plan for Phnom Penh and the AGT, in the form of small electric rail coaches, was proposed as the future mass public transportation system for the capital.

Mr. Wase was responding to Kong Sophal, deputy director general of the general department of transport in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, who said at a seminar recently that an exploratory study on the AGT was completed at the end of last year by JICA and a request now had been made to the agency to start carrying out the feasibility study.

The AGT is an electric-powered mass transit system with coaches that can carry a maximum of 30 passengers each and will run at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. The AGT requires less space and can easily be maneuvered in the city’s minor thoroughfares. Designed to be environmentally friendly, the AGT has less fossil fuel requirement and does not emit hazardous smoke.

“According to the pre-feasibility study, a small electric rail coach system was selected based on the passenger demand and urban characteristics in Phnom Penh. Through the evaluation, the AGT is the most flexible system in terms of geometric design among other alternatives such as a metro, monorail, LRT [light rail transit] and a tramway,” said Mr. Wase.

“A public transport system is very important to solve urban issues such as traffic congestion due to the continuous population influx and the uncontrolled increase of motorcycles and cars within a limited road space,” he added.
Mr. Wase said it would take at least seven to eight years to finalize the AGT.

“Time would be needed to select the best form of AGT, finalize its design, choose consultants and implement its construction.”

According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, a total of three million vehicles were registered last year, of which 500,000 were cars and trucks and the remaining 2.5 million motorcycles.