Malolos-Tutuban railway project to start in 2019

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to bid out in 2018 the Japan-funded northern section of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project, which will link the cities of Malolos and one of the city of Manila’s townships, Tondo, via the Tutuban rail station.

FROM 2 HOURS TO ONLY 35 MINUTES. With plans to put up 10 elevated stations, the NSCR promises a faster, safer, and more comfortable commute for those living in Bulacan yet working in Metro Manila. Screen grab from JICA video.

In a report from BusinessWorld, DOTr-NSCR Project Development officer Mikaela Eloisa D. Mendoza said that they were done with the feasibility study for the project and are planning to bid it out “maybe by first quarter of 2018.”

DETAILS OF THE PLAN. JICA has plans for more than just a railway. Video courtesy of JICA.

A video posted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) pegged the North Line project at 37.9 kilometers, with 10 elevated stations between Malolos and Tutuban. Once operatinonal, travel time between Malolos and Tutuban is expected to go down to 35 minutes from today’s norm of 2 hours.

A project for the southern half of the NSCR is already being studied by the DOTr. The NSCR-South Line covers Metro Manila and Legazpi City in Albay plus a number of existing and proposed branch lines bringing the South Line’s total length to 653 kilometers.

This includes the existing Tutuban-Calamba line and the long haul rail operations between Tutuban and Legazpi, plus a plan to have a branch line between Calamba and Batangas and an extension between Legazpi and Matnog, Sorsogon.

Construction on the railway is expected to start by the first half of 2019. The NSCR is expected to be up and running by 2020 or 2021, and will feature an automated fare collection system.

 

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, BusinessWorld Online, Manila Times, Rappler, Public-Private Partnership Center