The Philippine National Railways (PNR) will halt its entire operations by December this year to give way to the North-South Railway Projects (NSRP) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
PNR Chairman Michael Macapagal said the decision to stop the operation of the entire PNR line as the first wave of the NSRP project will be implemented along the stretch of Alabang, Muntinlupa to Calamba, Laguna route.
On Sunday, passengers from Alabang bound for Calamba were no longer accommodated, as the available train trips were from Alabang to Biñan,
Laguna only. The Biñan to Calamba train trip had already ceased operating, PNR said.
Starting July 15, all trips from the Alabang route will stop, Macapagal said.
Some 500 daily train commuters will be affected, according to PNR’s management.
The whole PNR operations will stop in December after the holiday rush, according to Macapagal.
To help the affected riding public, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be issuing additional franchises to the affected routes, according to Macapagal.
The NSRP will run up to six years, according to Macapagal.
“We are currently modernizing the train system of the Philippines. We will have electric trains which will come from Clark to Pampanga, Pampanga to Bulacan, Bulacan to Metro Manila, then Metro Manila to Calamba, Laguna,” Macapagal said.
The project aims at modernizing the PNR system in the country, which will eventually boost economic progress.
“This entire project will include 35 stations, there are 51 new electric trains, commuter trains, then about 7 or 8 express trains.
These are all electric and these are at far with world standards, and these are all elevated system so you will all see this,” he said.
Meanwhile, South Long Haul Projects will be implemented soon, according to PNR.
The projects will start from Calamba, Laguna where PNR currently
stops, all the way to the last town of Surigao in Mindanao.
The Philippine government, according to Macapagal, is currently in talks with another country for the South Long Haul Project.
“Once the agreement is signed between the two countries on a public-private partnership or maybe government to government or build operated transfer scheme, the Department of Transportation will issue a bulletin to inform our riding public,” he said.
“In fact, we were hoping to finish by this July the negotiations,” he said.
As of now, the south operations of PNR end in Calamba, Laguna.