The train sets for the 38-kilometer Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1 project will start to arrive by December in preparation for its partial operation in 2023, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Arthur Tugade, transportation secretary, who led the inspection of the Balagtas station and Calumpit construction yard site of the project, said the train sets will be delivered in December, while the training center for the rail line will be finished before the year ends.
The rail system that will connect Manila to Bulacan is targeted to start partial operation in the second quarter of 2023 and full operation in the second quarter of 2024, DOTr said.
To date, the PNR Clark Phase 1 from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, the first segment of the massive North-South Commuter Railway project, has an overall progress rate of 46.68 percent.
Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, PNR Clark Phase 1 cuts through the cities of Manila, Caloocan and Valenzuela, and the municipalities of Meycuayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos City in Bulacan.
Once completed, the project will serve 300,000 passengers daily and slash travel time from Tutuban to Malolos from one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes.
To prove that the PNR Clark Phase 1 project is on track and on schedule, Tugade said he personally visited the Balagtas Station and Calumpit construction yard, barely a month after conducting a series of inspections at the project’s Meycauayan and Valenzuela segments.
