New railway system to link Manila, Clark, Northern Luzon
A new Philippine National Railways (PNR) project linking Manila and Clark is officially soon underway after the Philippines and Chinese contractor China National Machinery Industry Corp. (Sinomach) finally settled on reviving the contract after a decade-long delay and arbitration.
IMAGE Philippine National Railways Facebook page
The project, dubbed PNR North 2 project, was initially planned to run from Tutuban in Manila, through the City of Malolos in Bulacan, to Clark in Pampanga, which will cut the travel time from Manila to Clark down to an hour. But recently, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) reportedly announced that the government is now planning to extend the railway network to San Fernando, Pampanga and the provinces of Tarlac, La Union, and Cagayan.
IMAGE Philippine National Railways Facebook page
Russia is said to have offered assistance in the project by financing a study on the areas beyond the New Clark City in Pampanga. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), meanwhile, has provided funding through Official Development Assistance (ODA).
This new railway project that extends beyond the boundaries of Metro Manila aims to decongest the metro traffic and make the city and the nearby northern provinces more accessible to each other.
The construction is planned to start by the end of 2017 or early in 2018.
Source: Inquirer.net
Images grabbed from: Philippine National Railways Facebook page
