Philippines & Japan Sealed the P97-Billion Commuter Rail Project

The Philippine and Japanese government sealed the P87-billion commuter rail project which the Japanese government through JICA promised earlier to provide the loans for the Philippines most massive rail project in Metro Manila.

Japan

For the past few years Metro Manila have been suffering from the effects of urban congestion and JICA noted that the problems costs road users about P2.4 billion per day that would swell to P6 billion daily by 2030.

The massive P97-billion commuter rail projects involves the North-South Commuter Rail (NSCR), the project will have the ability to efficiently move large numbers of passengers.

Specifically, the NSCR hopes to revive a once robust Luzon railway system that in the 1970s spanned 900 km linking La Union province in the north to Legazpi City in Albay province in the south. Jica said Luzon’s railway network had expanded only by 5 km over the last decade despite rapid growth in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The bigger portion is the NSCR’s south line, which involves about 653 km of railway lines, mainly a Tutuban to Legazpi City long-haul route that was suspended in 2012 due to typhoon damage to bridges along its alignment.

Part of the NSCR project is a 58-km line from Calamba, Laguna, to Batangas City, Batangas, and a 117-km line from Legazpi City to Matnog, Sorsogon.

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