DoTr starts Manila-Clark railway project

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) kicked off on Friday pre-construction activities to start the PNR North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR ) Project Phase 1.

The NSCR is a 38- kilometer railway that will connect Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, and is expected to accommodate around 340,000 passengers daily once it starts operations in 2021.

The project, which costs $3-billion, will be funded through official development assistance from Japan.

The initial works include clearing the site, grading of uneven surfaces and the demolition of obstructing structures.

“Manila will be within 35 minutes from Malolos,” DoTr Assis- tant Secretary for Rails Timothy Batan said during the ceremony.

The second phase of the project, which will connect Malolos to Clark, will be completed in 2022, Batan said.

The NCSR is part of the mass transit backbone forming the North-South Corridor advocated in the National Economic and Development Authority’s 2014 Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development Study for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas.

“The ceremony will allow people to see actual clearing of the site and witness the project entering the implementation stage,” Japan International Cooperation Agency Chief Representative Susumo Ito said.