Marcos clears P229-B PPP for North-South railway operations
President Marcos has approved the public-private partnership (PPP) undertaking for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), a grand project of the government that would connect northern and southern Luzon to the capital region of Metro Manila.
At its meeting on July 15, the Economy and Development Council (ED), chaired by Mr. Marcos, cleared the PPP arrangement for the O&M of the railway project. The total estimated cost of the O&M contract is P229.32 billion.
The NSCR is a 147-kilometer elevated railway line that will ease travel across three regions: Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).
With construction already in advanced stages along the alignment, the project is expected to benefit as many as 800,000 passengers daily in its opening year, eventually serving up to 1 million commuters.
The railway will feature 35 stations, including 31 elevated, three at-grade and one underground. Depots will be located in Clark, Valenzuela and Calamba to support maintenance and operations.
The NSCR will offer two types of train services: commuter trains, with 51 train sets each capable of carrying 2,242 passengers; and “Limited Express” trains, with seven train sets accommodating 386 passengers each.
These services are designed to significantly improve travel speed, with trains operating at 120 to 130 kilometers per hour—far surpassing the current average speeds of 20 to 40 kilometers per hour.
Travel time from Clark to Calamba will be reduced to about three hours via commuter service from around four hours, while the limited express service will cut travel time from Clark to Alabang to around two hours.
Full operations in 2032
Preoperations for the project will begin in March 2026 until July 2027. The concession period for the partial operations of Phase 1, which stretches from Clark International Airport to Valenzuela (13 stations), will commence in December 2027 and continue until September 2028.
Meanwhile, the concession period for the partial operations of Phase 2, which extends the services to Nichols with additional segment from Alabang to Calamba (32 stations), will run from October 2028 until December 2031.
Full operations are expected to begin in January 2032.
“The North-South Commuter Railway Project is a major step toward faster, greener and more connected transportation for Filipinos as the system will also be integrated with the Metro Manila Subway,” Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
“At the same time, it will promote green and commercial development along its corridors,” Balisacan added.
