MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Railways (PNR) on Sunday said that the construction of the P873.62-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project will finally be completed in 2028.

The 147-kilometer railway project will connect Clark, Pampanga in the north and Calamba, Laguna in the South and would halve the travel time between the two municipalities, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a post on its website.

According to the PNR, the first phase of the project’s construction, from Clark to Valenzuela City in Metro Manila, is already nearing completion.

“The civil works in the railway from Metro Manila to Alabang and from Alabang to Laguna will commence next month,” the agency said in a statement.

In the same statement, PNR Chair Michael Ted Macapagal said that all resources of the agency are being directed towards this “flagship project of the current administration."

“A fleet of 60 electric multiple unit trains, each of which is at par with world standards in terms of safety and comfort, stand ready to serve commuters,” the PNR chief mentioned, saying that his agency and the DOTr is under strict orders to finish the project on time.

Macapagal further said that the NSCR and the Metro Manila Subway, which are being constructed at the same time, will “ease, if not totally eliminate, traffic woes in and out of the metropolis.”

While the PNR now promises to complete the railway project in 2028, former DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in 2021 that the final segment of the NSCR in Calamba will be finished by 2025.

North-South Commuter Railway

The DOTr previously said that the railway project will have a total of 37 stations across 28 municipalities within the regions of Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and Calabarzon.

The NSCR, according to the DOTr’s website, comprises three segments:

1. PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban – Malolos): A 37.6 km commuter railway from Malolos City in Bulacan to Tutuban in Manila with 10 stations. It aims to reduce travel time between Tutuban and Malolos from over 1 hour and 30 minutes by bus or car via McArthur Highway to just 35 minutes once fully operational.

2. PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark): A 53-kilometer rail line that will reduce travel time from Malolos City in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga from two hours to 30 to 35 minutes. It will also feature the first-ever Airport Railway Express Service connecting Makati City to Clark International Airport, reducing travel time from the current two to three hours to just 55 minutes.

3. PNR Calamba (Solis-Calamba): A 56-kilometer train line and southern line connecting Metro Manila (Solis Street, Tondo) and Calamba, Laguna. It will speed up travel time from the current four hours to just one hour.

The department further said that once fully operational, the NSCR will accommodate a total of over 800,000 commuters daily.

The over P873-billion railway project is co-funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank.

More railways

“NSCR is only a start. The president is also eyeing the construction of the North Long Haul, the South Long Haul, the Panay Railway, North Mindanao Railway, and San Mateo Railway, all spanning a total of 1,024 kilometers,” PNR’s statement continued.

It further said that “a number” of corporations from the United States and Japan have expressed interest to finance the Mindanao and Bicol railways.

The DOTr, if added, is currently evaluating the foreign companies’ proposals and studying its options.

Moreover, the PNR Chair noted that the DOTr is keenly watching the expansion of Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit systems as their lines are being extended and stations are “being built along the way.”

In January of this year, Metro Manila topped TomTom International BV’s list of the worst traffic congestion among 387 metro areas in 2023.

Reprinted with permission from the Philippine Daily Inquirer