The modern and state-of-the-art 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna will be finished and fully operational by 2028, according to the Philippine National Railways (PNR), an attached agency of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

PNR Chairman Michael Ted Macapagal shared during the Saturday News Forum that they are currently completing the pre-construction works which involve fencing, removal of old tracks and resolving right of way (ROW) issues for the project, and will be able to start the rail construction by October this year.

He highlighted, “This PNR railway system that we’re currently constructing is funded in the amount of 876 billion pesos by JICA and ADB (Japan International Cooperation Agency and Asian Development Bank). Once fully constructed, it can accommodate up to 800,000 passengers daily.”

Macapagal underscored that the Philippines cannot strengthen its economy with a failing transportation sector, as he noted the study conducted by JICA which showed that 3.5 to 4 billion pesos is being lost daily due to the traffic situation alone in the country.

He said that PNR is now doing away with the old diesel locomotive trains. The agency procured 60-passenger trains or commuter trains which are all state-of-the-art electric trains, and are the most modern and sophisticated trains coming from Japan and provided by Mitsubishi. Among the trains that it procured, the fastest one is capable of 160 kilometers per hour speed, and will be used as “express trains” running point-to-point from Clark International Airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The regular trains will be running at 130 KPH and will stop at every station – in Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Laguna – for a total of 36 stations.

He said that these stations will become centers of trade in every respective area because there will be land development component, wherein there will be restaurants, malls, and other establishments for economic growth.

With regards to the pre-construction phase, Macapagal shared that for the Metro Manila portion, they have started track removal activities and started fencing the areas so that no one can erect houses or any structure there anymore. Then, they are removing the tracks because these will be replaced by new ones.

He elaborated, “Our biggest concern is the ROW. The priority policy in moving people from the project site is in-city or in-province relocation. So, we’re working on that. But of course, there are areas where it’s difficult to do that because there are no available big space anymore such as in Metro Manila. So, it’s a case-to-case basis, and we’re also providing livelihood assistance to the families that will be relocated. We really need the cooperation and support here of the local government units or LGUs.”

“The construction of this modern and sophisifsticated railway system is led by the Japanese experts. The rail will be handled by Colas Rails/Hitachi, so it’s Japanese and French. The elevated stations will be done by contractors from South Korea, the POSCO, the Hyundai; and from Indonesia you have ADHI KARYA; and you have Spanish ACCIONA. All of these contractors have extensive experience in their parts of the project,” he stressed.

He said that the Philippines will also acquire the technology through the Philippines Railway Institute (PRI) where local engineers will study the technology.

Macapagal stated that the PNR can already start to run trial trains by 2026 or early 2027, as part of the preparations for the target full operational mode of the whole system by 2028.

📷 Saturday News Forum