The Department of Transportation has ordered the demolition of old Philippine National Railways stations from Sta. Mesa in Manila to Cabuyao, Laguna, to hasten the construction of the Manila–Laguna segment of the North–South Commuter Railway.
Acting transportation secretary Giovanni Lopez, in a statement, announced that the demolition of the old PNR stations will be carried out simultaneously with the construction of the new railway, which is targeted to ferry 800,000 commuters daily when fully operational by 2032.
“Demolition of the PNR stations is being done simultaneously—there are ten in total, all the way from Sta. Mesa,” Lopez said.
“Why is this important? Because, as you may notice, our viaduct is incomplete. This is the only way for the project to move forward. And we also cannot accomplish this without the help of the local government,” Lopez said on Thursday during the demolition of the PNR Cabuyao station, with Assistant Secretary IC Calaguas and Mayor Dennis Hain in attendance.
Alongside the demolition at the PNR Cabuyao and Sta. Rosa stations, undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan and Muntinlupa Mayor Rozzano Rufino Biazon also oversaw the demolition of the PNR Alabang station.
Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Eddan Macabulos led the demolition of the PNR Bicutan station. Other old PNR stations demolished on September 18 include Blumentritt, Sucat, Muntinlupa, Biñan, San Pedro, Sta. Rosa and Mamatid.
The DOTr said right-of-way (ROW) acquisition for the NSCR project currently stands at 61 percent, and according to Lopez, all ROW issues for the southern portion of the project are expected to be resolved by 2026.
“You can see that the work of the DOTr is ongoing. This is also what the President emphasized—that the work of the DOTr and its attached agencies must not stop,” Lopez said.
The entire NSCR system is expected to be completed by 2032. The Malolos–Valenzuela segment is scheduled to begin operations in 2027, while the Malolos–Clark segment will follow suit in 2028.
