(Eagle News) — The completion of the first two segments of the North-South Commuter Railway is on track, the Department of Transportation said.
According to the DOTr, the NSCR’s first leg, the PNR Clark Phase 1, which runs from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, has an over-all progress rate of 43 percent.
Construction phase rate is at 11.78 percent as of January 31.
“Partially operable na po ito by the fourth quarter of 2021 and full operations in the second quarter of 2024, Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Junn Magno said.
According to Magno, with the completion of PNR Clark Phase 1, travel time between Tutuban and Malolos is expected to be reduced from 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes.
It will also increase railway capacity to 330,000 passengers per day.
Meanwhile, the DOTr said five civil works contract packages have been signed for PNR Clark Phase 2, which will stretch from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark, Pampanga.
Magno said phase 2 has an over-all progress rate of 27.79 percent as of January 31.
Once completed, travel time between Bulacan and Pampanga will be slashed from the current 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes.
Magno added that the PNR Clark Phase 2 covers the country’s first airport express service, which means its completion will also reduce travel time from Makati City to Clark, Pampanga to around 55 minutes, compared to the more than two hours of travel by car.
The department said the PNR Clark Phase 2 will have its groundbreaking in 2021.
The 54-kilometer second segment of the NSCR will be partially operational by the second quarter of 2023, while the full operation is expected to be in the third quarter of 2024.
The segment aims to accommodate 150,000 passengers per day.
“Itong proyekto na ito, gusto ko, agad ‘yang mapakinabangan ng tao. That’s why I have been pushing, and pressuring the Railway sector really hard to fast-track the construction works in the best way possible,” Transportation Secretary Art Tugade said.
