The Philippine National Railways (PNR) will temporarily halt its Governor Pascual-Tutuban and Tutuban-Alabang operations starting March 28 to accelerate the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project in Metro Manila, it announced on Friday.
During the PNR suspension of operations in Metro Manila, the construction of the NSCR will be expedited by eight months and save the government at least P15.18 billion from the project, it said.
According to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, PNR services will be suspended to also ensure that passengers are safe while the construction of the NSCR is underway.
The Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board have arranged alternative bus routes to cater to passengers who will be affected during the PNR suspension, Bautista said.
Buses on the Tutuban route to Alabang and vice versa are expected to drop off and pick up passengers near the current PNR route, he added.
The southbound buses will pass through Divisoria (Tutuban), Mayhaligue Street, Abad Santos Avenue, Recto Avenue, Legarda Street, Quirino Avenue, Nagtahan Flyover, Mabini Bridge, Quirino Avenue, Osmeña Highway, Nichols Entry, SLEX, Bicutan Exit, Bicutan Entry, and Alabang (Starmall).
The northbound buses will pass through Alabang (Starmall), Manila South Road, East Service Road, Alabang (Entry), SLEX, Bicutan Exit, Bicutan Entry, Nichols Exit, Osmeña Highway, Quirino Avenue, Legarda Street, Recto Avenue, Abad Santos Avenue, Mayhaligue Street, and Divisoria (Tutuban).
The bus trips on the Tutuban-Alabang (Southbound) route will start at 7:30 AM, 9:10 AM, 3:00 PM, 3:20 PM, 7:30 PM, and 9:00 PM. On the other hand, the bus trips on the Alabang-Tutuban (Northbound) route will start at 5:00 AM, 6:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 11:45 AM, 5:00 PM, and 6:10 PM.
NSCR, the Philippines’ state-of-the-art 147-kilometer rail line, is expected to shorten travel time from Clark, Pampanga, all the way to Calamba, Laguna by less than two hours.
Expected to accommodate 800,000 passengers per day, the NSCR is poised to decongest Metro Manila traffic and strengthen economic growth in all the cities and municipalities it will be passing through.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline It’s official! PNR suspends Metro Manila operations beginning March 28