North–South Commuter Railway

A railway system running from Manila to Clark was set to be constructed in the 1990s, when then President Fidel Ramos signed a memorandum of agreement with Juan Carlos I of Spain for its construction in September 1994.[3] On August 24, 1995, North Luzon Railways was formed as a subsidiary of Bases Conversion and Development Authority. The NLRC then entered into an engineering, procurement and construction contract (EPRC) with the Spanish Railways Corporation on February 7, 1996, but the contract was later terminated on August 14, 1998, after the parties disagreed on the source of funding for the project.[3]

In September 1999, the NEDA-ICC later approved the project, then known as the Manila–Clark rapid railway system, with Phase 1 covering the Caloocan–Calumpit segment and the source of funding to be the Obuchi Fund from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.[3] Right-of-way clearing and relocation of informal settlers began, but a presidential directive later halted the clearing activities, and the JBIC loan never happened.[3]

On 14 September 2002, a memorandum of understanding was signed by NorthRail and China National Machinery and Equipment Group (CNMEG) for the project.[3] It was later approved as the NorthRail project on 5 August 2003, with the first phase covering Caloocan to Malolos segment.[3] The project was estimated to cost around US$500 million, and the funding was to be covered by a US$400 million by the Export–Import Bank of China, and the rest to be shouldered by the government through BCDA and NLRC.[3][5][18]

The project involved the upgrading of the existing single track to an elevated dual-track system, converting the rail gauge from narrow gauge to standard gauge, and linking Manila to Malolos City in Bulacan and further on to Angeles, Clark Special Economic Zone and the Clark International Airport.[3] Preparatory construction began in early November 2006. Due to delays in the construction work, it was soon renegotiated with the Chinese government. Construction temporarily continued in January 2009 with the support of the North Luzon Railways Corporation.[3]

The NorthRail project was cancelled in March 2011 during the Benigno Aquino III administration, due to a series of delays, work stoppages, a controversy and anomalies with the foreign contractor.[5][6][7] According to then Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, the Chinese were open to reconfiguring the project, and that he was meeting with his Chinese counterpart in a month's time.[4] However, nothing materialized out of these talks.[6]

The Philippine Supreme Court handed down in March 2012 a decision giving a lower court the go-signal to hear the case calling for the annulment of the allegedly overpriced contract. Instead of settling the entire US$184 million due in 2012, the Department of Finance will pay Export-Import Bank of China 4 equal payments of $46 million starting September 2012.[19] National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Arsenio Balisacan said the 80-kilometer Northrail project would resume within the term of President Benigno Aquino III,[19] but despite this announcement, the Northrail project was scrapped and replaced under different terms with different contractors.

In November 2017, DOTr, BCDA, and North Luzon Railways reached an out-of-court settlement with Sinomach, resolving the five-year dispute.[20][5]

With the termination of the Northrail project, the Department of Transportation and Communications under the Aquino administration considered reviving the project by commissioning a feasibility study by CPCS Transcom Ltd. of Canada. Part of the study examined having a Malolos–Tutuban–Calamba–Los Baños commuter line.[21][22] The feasibility study was still ongoing when the NEDA included the North-South Commuter Railway in its Metro Manila Dream Plan, which it approved in 2014.[23]

Under the Metro Manila Dream Plan, the North-South Commuter Railway would be divided into two phases: the 37-kilometer Phase 1, which will run from Tutuban to Malolos and funded through overseas development assistance; and the 653-kilometer Phase 2, which will run from Tutuban to Legazpi, Albay, with an extension up to Matnog, Sorsogon and a branch line from Calamba to Batangas. It will be funded through a Public-Private Partnership scheme.[10][9]

On 16 February 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority board, chaired by then President Aquino, approved the NSCR Phase 1 project.[8][9] After President Aquino met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan in June 2015, the Prime Minister expressed his commitment to fund the project and on 19 November 2015, representatives of both countries exchanged notes on the project in the presence of Abe and Aquino.[13]

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was chosen by the Japanese government to look into financing the project, and on 27 November 2015, seven months before Aquino would end his term, JICA and the Department of Finance signed a loan agreement worth ₱97.3 billion ($1.99 billion) for financing of the project.[11][12][24]

With the assumption into office of President Rodrigo Duterte on 30 June 2016 following his victory in the 2016 Philippine presidential election, responsibility for bidding out the project fell into his administration. As such, the Department of Transportation included the project under President Duterte's Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure Program. On 25 June 2017, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced the new name for the project and unveiled the locations of the first five stations during a press tour of old PNR line.[25]

Pre-construction activities for the railway line began on 6 January 2018 while the project was still undergoing bidding to interested parties. On 10 May 2019, a Filipino-Japanese consortium composed of DMCI Holdings and Taisei Corporation won the contract to build the railway line, with actual construction commencing the following month.[26]

Construction of the NSCR will be built into three phases and will be divided into two lines.

NSCR North, also known as PNR Clark, was divided into two phases. NSCR North 1 involves the 38 km (24 mi) Tutuban-Malolos segment, while NSCR North 2 involves the 53 km (33 mi) Malolos–Clark Railway. The 91-kilometer railway line, when fully completed, will run from Tutuban Station in Manila to New Clark City (NCC), passing through Clark International Airport (CIA).[27][28]

Pre-construction work such as clearing of the right of way was started in January 2018. The groundbreaking and construction from Tutuban to Malolos started on February 15, 2019.[29] The contract for the construction of PNR North 1 was awarded to the Filipino-Japanese consortium of DMCI Holdings and Taisei Corporation on May 21, 2019.[14][30]

On the other hand, the first three contracts for the construction of NSCR North 2 had been opened in August 2019. A record 11 firms from various ADB member countries participated in the bid.[31]

NSCR North 1 is expected to be completed by 2021,[14] while NSCR North 2 is slated for operation 2 years later by 2023.[31]

The existing Metro Commuter Line will be reconstructed as an elevated electrified standard-gauge line.[32][33] The 56 km (35 mi) railway will run from Solis, Manila to Calamba, Laguna. It is expected to be completed by 2025.

A study originally published in 2014 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the National Economic and Development Authority, and ALMEC Corporation revealed the master plan for the NSCR. The entire line will run between Tarlac City and Batangas City. If realized, the total system length will be around 220 kilometers (140 mi).[34]

All stations will have a standard layout, with a concourse level and a platform level. Stations will either have island platforms or side platforms with platform screen doors. The stations will be designed to have barrier-free design, and trains shall have spaces for passengers using wheelchairs. All stations will have access to intermodal facilities.

The train stations are also designed to adhere to both Philippine and Japanese standards.

The 2014 JICA study proposed a 38 km (24 mi) branch line that will split at Angeles, Pampanga. The line will have 12 stations and shall end in Tarlac City.[34]

The PNR has requested for a feasibility study for a commuter line connecting Tarlac City and San Jose, Nueva Ecija in 2019. The length of the line and the number of stations will be determined once a proposal has been submitted.[36]

The study also proposed a 58 km (36 mi) extension of the NSCR to Batangas City.[34] However, the reconstruction of this line is slated for the PNR South Long Haul Project which was approved in 2017, with the line being a single-track, standard-gauge line without electrification, and will be built at-grade as in the present PNR network. It will be upgraded to double track and electrification in the future.[37]