The Department of Transportation said Monday it expects the Tagum-Carmen segment of the P82-billion Mindanao Railway Project to start partial operations by March 2022.
“Our target partial operability is by 2022. We are fast tracking the acquisition of the right of way,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
He said the government would soon procure a project management consultant for the project.
The 102-km Mindanao Railway Project: Tagum-Davao-Digos segment is expected to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours.
The MRP-TDD segment is the first of the three segments of the project. It is expected to not only make travel faster, but also safer, more convenient and comfortable for passengers in the said corridor, according to the government.
It will have eight stations at Tagum, Carmen, Panabo, Mudiang, Davao, Toril, Sta. Cruz and Digos. A 10-hectare depot will also be built in Tagum.
The rail line will be built with a single track, with provisions for future tracks and electrification. It will have six 5-car passenger trains (diesel multiple units) with three spare cars, four locomotives and 15 freight cars.
Upon project completion, the DOTr expects the daily ridership of the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment to reach 134,060 by 2022. Daily ridership is seen to further increase to 237,023 by 2032 and 375,134 by 2042.
The railway is funded by official development assistance from China.