Philippine National Railways fencing works in Alabang, Muntinlupa (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The Philippine National Railways (PNR) said construction of the Metro Manila portion of the 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) will go full blast by October this year.
At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, PNR chair Michael Ted Macapagal said the National Capital Region (NCR) pre-construction works involve fencing, removal of old tracks and resolving right of way (ROW) issues.
“Nilalagyan po ng fences iyong mga areas so that hindi na madadaan ng mga tao at hindi na puwedeng may titira doon or whatever. Isi-secure iyong mga areas (We’re putting up fences in areas so that people can no longer pass and no one can live there or whatever. We will secure those areas),” Macapagal said.
He said old tracks will be migrated to other areas while clearing operations and ROW concerns are already being attended to.
In NCR, there will be construction of elevated and at-grade tracks and stations from Blumentritt, Manila to Sucat, Parañaque City.
He said the northern line of the NSCR is 50 percent complete and he sees the entire project completed by 2027.
The PNR’s Metro Manila line (Manila to Muntinlupa) is temporarily suspended, starting March 28, to give way to NSCR works.
The entire project from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Asian Development Bank. (PNA)
