North-South railway on track
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) was understandably ecstatic when large Japanese, French, and local infrastructure companies showed keen interest to operate and manage the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the government’s single largest rail project dubbed as a lasting solution to commuters’ everyday agony.
But given that the massive project has been blighted by interminable delays across multiple administrations, some sectors are not as optimistic that the Marcos administration will succeed where others have failed and finally get the massive project up and running.
Nevertheless, for the DOTr, the participation of the reputable companies including Tokyo Metro, JR East, JR West, Mitsubishi Corp., Sumitomo Corp. of Japan, French firms RATP Dev. S.A., Transdev, Keolis, Alstom, as well as local firms First Balfour Inc. and San Miguel Corp. was “very encouraging” for the beleaguered Marcos administration that desperately wants to accelerate economic growth through public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects such as the NSCR.
Stretching at 147 kilometers that will run from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna, it is expected to slash travel time between the two points from the minimum of four hours to just two, easing travel across the 27 cities and municipalities including the congested greater Metro Manila area to be serviced by the P873.6-billion NSCR.
Economic cost
The NSCR will also feature the Philippines’ first airport service which will cut travel time between Makati and Clark in Pampanga to less than an hour, and then Clark to Alabang in about an hour and 15 minutes, from at least two and a half hours today.
RATP business development head Benoit Vo Dinh saw for himself just how much weary travelers have to endure every day just moving from one place to another in the capital.
“When I did the site visits, I stayed about seven hours stuck in traffic around Manila. So you can really see and feel how the project will completely change the way Filipino people and the inhabitants around Manila move and live. So it’s about giving back time to the Manila people, and it’s really the kind of project that makes real sense, and makes you understand why you’re working [on] railways,” Vo Dinh said.
And it is not just precious time that those who travel around Metro Manila and nearby provinces are losing.
The economic cost has likewise been severe, considering that Metro Manila is home to about 13 percent of the population and the country’s main economic center, accounting for some 37 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product.
Centerpiece project
According to a 2018 report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), one of the main funders of the NSCR, the cost of congestion exceeds P3 billion a day in Metro Manila and another P2 billion daily in adjoining provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna.
“This huge economic loss is due to the increase in vehicle operating cost and travel time also affects the people’s life significantly,” said Jica, which estimates that the loss could swell to as much as P6 billion a day by 2030 if congestion worsens.
And surely, they have, as it has been seven years since the Jica feasibility report was completed and the railway is yet to start even partial operations.
This, despite the railway system being branded as flagship and centerpiece project by three administrations that have all concurred that extending the country’s railway system in Luzon is crucial to improving the quality of life in the island and the powerhouse of the country’s economy.
These thus underscore the absolute urgency for NSCR to finally get closer to being completed after too many costly failed attempts.
As Sumitomo Corp. representative Kosuke Takahashi said, the NSCR “will change the people of Manila.”
“They will experience a new railway system and a new movement method from north to south. So, we would like to contribute to this project for a better service to all customers,” Takahashi said.
Full steam ahead
Difficulties and even corruption charges delayed the project during the Arroyo, Aquino, and Duterte administrations.
Under the latest schedule under the Marcos administration’s “Build Better More” mantra, partial operations for the Valenzuela to Malolos segment are set to begin in December 2027 while the Malolos to Clark segment should be ready to accept as many as 800,000 passengers daily by October 2028.
Full operation of the entire stretch, meanwhile, is expected to commence in January 2032 as the DOTr works double time to address longstanding project implementation bottlenecks and streamline land acquisition for big-ticket transport projects such as the NSCR.
With the DOTr going full steam ahead with the construction following the full funding commitment from development partners and the intense interest from the private sector to ensure the smooth operations and maintenance, Filipinos are clinging to the hope that the latest schedule will be the final one.
The country and commuters simply cannot afford any more delays.
