The Philippines is poised for a railway renaissance with big ticket projects currently in progress that are expected to reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), declared the country in the midst of a “railway renaissance” aimed at easing the notorious traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
The Department of Transportation is spearheading this initiative, with 23 of its 69 infrastructure projects focused on railway improvements and expansions.
Five of these projects, including the North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway, LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension, MRT Line 7 and MRT Line 3 rehabilitation are under construction.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said these railway projects are seen to solve the country’s traffic woes once all these rail lines are simultaneously operating.
He said the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System can service at least a million passengers, while the MRT-3 line can carry 500,000 passengers daily.
The Metro Manila Subway can accommodate 519,000 passengers daily, with the MRT-7 and LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project expected to fetch 800,000 passengers and 300,000 passengers respectively.
“If we can operate this at this capacity, many motorists would not bring their cars, and it will solve, or reduce the traffic problem considering the traffic in Metro Manila costs us P3.5 billion a day according to a study by JICA [Japan International Cooperation Agency] in 2017,” Bautista said.
“I think If you will consider that from 2017 to 2024, economic costs of traffic would nearly double,” he said.
Bautista, meanwhile, said these railway projects conform to international standards in terms of safety, comfort and accessibility.
“These new railway projects are PWD-friendly, friendly for seniors. The safety features will be very different from our existing lines,” he said. “Accessibility is part of the design”
Bautista said construction for the country’s first underground railway system is in full blast with four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) already operating.
The DOTr is also working with the contractors of the MMSP to fast-track the construction of subway stations.
Billed as the Philippines’ “Crown Jewel” of mass transit system, the Metro Manila Subway will cut across eight cities stretching from Valenzuela City to FTI-Bicutan in Parañaque City with a spur line to NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
The 33-kilometer and 17-station rail line aims to cut travel time between Quezon City and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City from one hour and 10 minutes to just 35 minutes.
Once operational, the underground railway system can service up to 370,000 passengers daily.
The P874-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), on the other hand, is on track for completion by December 2029.
According to DOTr, 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.
NSCR is one of the key projects that would help decongest Metro Manila roads.
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.
