The Manila Light Rail Transit System is the main metropolitan rail
system serving the Metro Manila area in the Philippines. The Manila
LRT is the first metro system in Southeast Asia, predating the
Singapore MRT by three years. The LRT forms part of Metro Manila's
rail transportation infrastructure, known as the Strong Republic
Transit System, and overall public transport system. Although one of
the original purposes of the system was to reduce traffic congestion
in the metropolis, many commuters who ride the LRT also take various
forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to reach the
intended destination from an LRT station and vice-versa. While this
forms a comprehensive transportation system serving many parts of
Metro Manila, the system has only been partially successful in
cutting
traffic congestion and travel times, which is further aggravated by
the rising number of motor vehicles in Metro Manila. The system is
operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority, a government-owned and
controlled corporation under the authority of the Department of
Transportation and Communications as an attached agency.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Light_Rail_Transit_System
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
U.S. National Parks: Abraham Lincoln granted Yosemite Valley to
California for "public ... recreation".
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_park)
1905:
Albert Einstein published the article "On the Electrodynamics of
Moving Bodies" and introduced the theory of special relativity.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein)
1908:
The Tunguska impact event occurred in Siberia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event)
1934:
Adolf Hitler violently purged his political rivals on the Night of
the Long Knives.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives)
1971:
The Soyuz 11 spacecraft depressurised during reentry, killing
cosmonauts Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from
mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the
man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses
instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." -- Albert
Einstein
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein)