CALUMPIT, Bulacan (PIA) — Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Deovanni Miranda affirmed that negotiations for the full clearing of unresolved right-of-way (ROW) issues for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSRC) are being fast-tracked.
This aligns with the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) target to partially operate the
NSCR from Clark International Airport (CRK) to its depot at the boundary of Meycauayan and Valenzuela by 2028.
Touted as the country’s first airport railway system, the NSCR will reduce travel time from CRK to Malolos from over an hour to just 30 minutes.
The remaining ROW concerns include sections of the NSCR viaduct such as the approach to the San Fernando Station near the Pampanga Provincial Capitol, the segment above the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo Road, and the St. Jude-Manila North Road intersection in Calumpit.
ROW clearing from Valenzuela to Tutuban in Manila is also a priority to commence actual construction in that area.
While ROW resolution continues, construction of major railway bridges for the 53-kilometer Malolos-Clark segment is underway.
During a site visit to the old Calumpit train station, Miranda reported that the foundation works for a bridge across the Angat River in Barangay Iba O’ Este have started. This bridge will serve as the approach to the new Calumpit Station currently being constructed along the Manila North Road.
Two more are planned in Calumpit– one in Labangan 7 near the public market (El Mercado De Calumpit), and another across the Calumpit River in Barangay Gatbuca.
In Pampanga, viaducts have been erected across Rio Grande de Pampanga in Barangay Sulipan, Apalit, and over the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in Mabalacat City.
These structures are vital to the NSCR Malolos-Clark segment, which will use 51 commuter train-sets, each with eight cars , built by Japan Transport Engineering Company. These will serve all stations between CRK and Calamba City in Laguna.
Additionally, seven express train sets with similar configurations will run between Clark and Calamba, stopping only at Buendia in Makati, Nichols in Pasay, and Paranaque and Alabang in Muntinlupa. Other trains will serve routes to Tutuban, Manila, and Calamba.
The Malolos-Clark segment is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA allocated P201 billion for train manufacturing, while ADB funded the P286 billion construction of the double-track elevated railway viaduct.
As of the latest data from the DOTr, the Malolos-Clark segment is now 51 percent complete. (MJSC/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
