NSCR sets 2028 run, more coming

Also in the pipeline are the North Long Haul, the South Long Haul, the Panay Railway, North Mindanao Railway, and San Mateo Railway, which Macapagal said span a total of 1,024 kilometers

By the time the P873.62-billion North-South Commuter Railway or NSCR is up and running in 2028, several other rail projects would have also been started to be built.

Philippine National Railways chairperson Michael Ted Macapagal said all human, financial and technical resources of the PNR and its contractors are being made to bear on the flagship project of the current administration. “My boss, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, is under orders to finish it on time,” Macapagal said.

NSCR is only a start. Also in the pipeline are the North Long Haul, the South Long Haul, the Panay Railway, North Mindanao Railway, and San Mateo Railway, which Macapagal said span a total of 1,024 kilometers.

Giant corporations from the United States and Japan have signified interest to finance the Mindanao and Bicol railways, according to Macapagal.

DoTr is evaluating the proposals and studying its options, he added.

“Finding a solution to the traffic gridlock is a promise made by President Ferdinand Marcos, and we are determined to deliver on that promise,” the PNR chief said.

Phase 1 ready soon

The first phase of the NSCR, from Clark to Valenzuela, is nearing completion. The civil works on the railway from Metro Manila to Alabang and from Alabang to Laguna will commence in April.

According to Macapagal, the NSCR and the Metro Manila Subway, which are being built at the same time, will ease, if not eliminate, traffic woes in and out of the metropolis.

The NSCR runs from Clark Global City in Pampanga to Calamba City in Laguna, a distance of 147 kilometers.

It will have the capacity to transport 800,000 passengers a day. Travel time from one end of the line to the other will be cut in half, from eight to four hours. Commute between stations along the way will be in a matter of minutes.

“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,” Macapagal said.

Macapagal added that the DoTr secretary watches with a keen eye the expansion of LRT and MRT, with their lines being extended and stations being built along the way. He added that DoTr exercises administrative control over PNR, LRT and MRT, and the Metro Manila Subway.

The entire DoTr team, Macapagal said, works within the strict timetable set by the president.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DOTR TRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime Bautista (right) gives Finance Secretary Ralph Recto a tour of the ongoing construction of the P488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project at the Valenzuela depot. Recto reaffirmed the Department of Finance’s commitment to securing funding for the third tranche of the project this March. Bautista reveals an overall project implementation progress rate at 40 percent as of January 2024.