THE partial operation in 2027 or by the first quarter of 2028 of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) on track with over 80 percent completion of its Depot in Clark Pampanga which will ensure interoperability of the whole alignment from Clark in Pampanga all the way to Calamba in Laguna.
Clark depot’s overall progress stood at 81.69 percent in July from 79 percent in June.
Covering approximately 33 hectares, the Clark depot has a stabling yard, an integral bridge, and 48 depot buildings and facilities, crucial in the operations of the whole NSCR alignment.
Significant progress in the depot includes major engineering works such as structural, mechanical, electrical, and mechanical works for buildings.
The waterproofing of panel installations for roofs, gutters, and drywalls for the workshop, light repair shop, operations control center, and training center also takes part in the progress.
The project has achieved 9.5 million safety workforce hours at the end of July, with regular audits and high-risk inspections conducted to ensure compliance with health and safety protocols.
The depot’s Workshop, a 2-storey industrial type building, will be mainly responsible for the heavy maintenance of rolling stocks of the NSCR.
Said structure is now at 87 percent completion rate, with building works now at 99.99 percent finish.
The Light Repair Shop of the depot is an industrial single-story building used for light maintenance of rolling stock and other related railway functions. Said building is now at 82 percent overall progress, with 100 percent in terms of its building works.
The NSCR’s Balagtas station in Bulacan is expected to start operation in 2027 as the completion rate stood at 95 percent as of last month.
The Balagtas station of the NSCR is part of the project’s Northern leg, the Malolos-Tutuban segment which includes nine other stations, including Tutuban station, Solis station, Caloocan station, West Valenzuela station, Meycauayan station, Marilao station, Bocaue station, Balagtas station, Guiguinto station, and Malolos station.
The 147-kilometer, 35-station elevated NSCR system will run from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna, reducing end-to-end travel time from the current four hours to less than two hours via train.
