THE Economy and Development Council (ED Council) said it has approved the operations and maintenance (O&M) project for the still to be completed North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) under a public-private partnership arrangement.
The Council led by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., through a statement issued by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), said the total estimated cost of the O&M contract is P229.32 billion.
The P873.6 billion NSCR is a 147-kilometer elevated railway line that will ease travel across three regions: Central Luzon, Metro Manila and CALABARZON.
The government said the construction is already “in advanced stages” along the alignment and is expected to benefit as many as 800,000 passengers daily in its opening year, eventually serving up to one million commuters.
It will feature 35 stations, including 31 elevated, three at-grade, and one underground that will connect Calamba in Laguna and Clark in Pampanga. 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 trainsets each capable of carrying 2,242 passengers, and Limited Express trains, with seven trainsets accommodating 386 passengers each.
These services are designed to significantly improve travel speeds, 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 about four hours, while the limited express service will cut travel time from Clark to Alabang to about two hours.
Pre-operations 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 (CIA) to Valenzuela (13 stations), will start in December 2027 and continue until September 2028, the DEPDev said.
“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,” it added.
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. At the same time, it will promote green and commercial development along its corridors,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, said.
The NSCR is one of the Marcos Administration’s Infrastructure Flagship Projects, aimed at delivering high-impact, long-term solutions to the country’s connectivity and economic development challenges.
President Marcos, meanwhile, expressed optimism the P488 billion-Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) can be fast tracked in time for a partial operation by 2028.
Transporation Secretary Vince Dizon in May said a partial operation of the MMSP is likely by 2032.
“I hope we can finish this until Valenzuela by 2028. Maybe we can inaugurate this by 2028. Let’s see,” Marcos said in Filipino said during the inspection of the Camp Aguinaldo Station of the MMSP yesterday.
The president witnessed the launch on Wednesday of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) CP103 from Camp Aguinaldo Station in Quezon City toward the Ortigas Station in Mandaluyong City.
He said everyone agrees that the project needs to be expedited to provide comfort to commuters.
The president is eyeing nine of the 17 subway stations to be operational or inaugurated by 2028 — from Valenzuela City to Mandaluyong City — to ease traffic congestion and start providing relief to commuters in Metro Manila.
The stations are Valenzuela, Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora, North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, East Avenue, Anonas, Katipunan/Camp Aguinaldo, and Ortigas Avenue.
The other subway stations are Shaw Boulevard, Kalayaan Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Lawton East, Senate-DepEd, NAIA Terminal 3, FTI, and Bicutan.
The 850-meters tunnel will pass under the Corinthian Properties and Meralco Compound and affects 69 privately-owned land parcels.
The TBM is expected to reach Corinthian Properties by the last quarter of 2025.
The subway system is envisioned to be interconnected with other rail systems: the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3), and the Metro Rail Transit-Line 7 (MRT7) through the Common Station; the Light Rail Transit-Line 2 (LRT2) at the Anonas Station; and a physical run through into the North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-Ex) at the FTI and Bicutan Stations.
Once the whole line is completed, it is expected to reduce travel time from Valenzuela to the airport to 40 minutes from the current two hours.
The President, during the event, acknowledged the assistance of the Japanese – from its government to its engineers – saying that the Philippines had picked the right partners in undertaking the subway project as well as in guiding the Filipino engineers and workers in implementing the project.
“That’s why I urge everyone to keep going, and we look forward to the day when we can say we have already ridden the subway in the Philippines. We have taken the tube to go to work,” Marcos added in a mix of Filipino and English.
