The government expects the P874-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) to significantly reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila by December 2029.
According to the Department of Transportation, the Valenzuela to Clark section of the project is expected to open first by December 2027 or first quarter of 2028.
As of May 2024, the construction progress of Tutuban to Malolos segment reached 42.1 percent; Malolos to Clark, 31.25 percent; and Manila to Calamba, 5.87 percent.
“Based on the adjusted schedule in 2023, we are on time in terms of construction, and we are confident to say that we are gaining ground in our construction,” the DOTr said. “We are definitely moving faster based on our current status.”
NSCR is one of the key projects that would help decongest Metro Manila roads. “With the NSCR, being one of the country’s biggest inter-provincial rail projects, Filipinos from Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Laguna can now go to and from these provinces in just a few minutes, or less than two hours max, if they take the full trip from Clark to Calamba,” the agency said.
It said the Clark to Calamba travel would be shortened from the current four hours via road.
“NSCR is a comfortable, accessible, affordable, safe and environmentally friendly rail transport that will positively impact our transport sector and the economy– generating jobs and decongesting Metro Manila traffic,”it said.
A flagship project under the “Build Better More” program, it is a mega railway network spanning 148 km., 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 will run across 26 cities and municipalities in Central Luzon, National Capital Region and Calabarzon.
The project aims to serve over 800,000 passengers daily once it becomes fully operational.