PNR to close Malabon-Calamba route
TO speed up the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), the Philippine National Railways (PNR) plans to stop the train service from Gov. Pascual in the City of Malabon up to Calamba, Laguna, according to Undersecretary for Railways Cesar B. Chavez in a report to the House of Representatives committee hearing on Thursday, February 16.
By stopping the PNR train service in the said route where the NSCR tracks will be laid down, and posts are to be erected, Chavez said that it would “advance” by about eight months the project implementation.
With faster completion of the NSCR project, it is expected that the government will save some P15.18 billion since land acquisition and relocation of utilities will be lesser, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) executive explained.
Meanwhile, the PNR Alabang-Calamba route is also planned to be stopped at the end of May 2023.
The contract packages S-04, S-05, S-06, and S-07 of the NSCR extension project from Tutuban up to Calamba was signed on October 6, 2022.
These contract packages cover the construction of all the PNR stations in Alabang, Muntinlupa, up to Calamba City in Laguna, including the train depot in Bgy. Banlic, Calamba City.
By March, the contract for the work of the railway line from Manila to Alabang is scheduled to be awarded so that the PNR train service in the Tutuban-Alabang route will also be stopped in October this year.
Chavez said the DOTr and PNR had coordinated with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to provide an alternative transportation franchise to serve some 30,000 passengers to be affected by the stoppage of PNR train service.
“DOTr and PNR will make formal announcement two months before the official stoppage of train operation,” Chavez assured during the committee hearing.
The earliest stoppage of PNR operation in Gov. Pascual, Malabon-Calamba route is targeted for May 2023.
Accordingly, the NSCR is considered one of the latest train systems in Southeast Asia. With the target completion in 2026, the NSCR project will build Tutuban-Clark International Airport and Tutuban-Calamba train routes.
“Safety and passengers’ welfare are the number one priority of the PNR leadership. The issues related to [the] safety and welfare of the passengers of the PNR train are always the guideposts of the decisions of the PNR leadership,” Chavez iterated.
He added that the PNR leadership will never “put in danger” its train passengers while the construction of the NSCR is ongoing.
“We have enough time to prepare all the necessary requirements to enforce and use alternative transportation for the affected passengers of the PNR train,” Chavez said.
The DOTr executive concluded that the completion of the NSCR project will usher in faster and more comfortable trips for the PNR train passengers as it will also contribute to the economic progress of the nation.
