The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Tuesday it is on track to completing the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project by 2027.
Secretary Jaime Bautista said the government is expediting the NSCR project to meet commuter demands.
The agency reported that the right-of-way (ROW) of four out of six stations (Apalit, Angeles, Clark and Clark International Airport in Pampanga) was handed over to the contractor at 100 percent, while about 76 percent of ROW was handed over for the Malolos to Clark segment.
DOTr Undersecretary for railways and Philippine National Railways (PNR) general manager Jeremy Regino said the progress of the construction of the NSCR remained on schedule, especially the Tutuban-Malolos (N1) segment and Malolos-Clark (N2) segment.
The NSCR is expected to begin partial operations from West Valenzuela to Malolos by the second quarter of 2027, while full operation would start by the third quarter of 2029.
A flagship project under the Build Better More Program, the NSCR is a mega railway network spanning 148 kilometers, with 37 stations and 464 train cars and encompassing three segments—the PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos), PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba (Solis-Calamba).
The mass transport project, which stretches across 26 cities and municipalities within the three regions of Central Luzon, National Capital Region and CALABARZON, is expected to serve over a million passengers daily.
It is also envisioned to enhance connectivity and mobility and provide the commuting public with long-lasting comfort and convenience.
The project aims to reduce travel time between Clark, Pampanga and Calamba, Laguna to two hours and service over 800,000 passengers daily once operational.