Good news for our local commuters as the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) is making big progress, as the Clark-Calamba trains of PNR are set to arrive in December of this year.

The training simulators for future operators are arriving sooner this September or October according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. 

“‘Mayroon tayong lugar na tinatayo ng DOTr na paglalagyan ng simulator. Ito ang gagamitin para sa training ng mga taong magpapatakbo at gagabay sa proyektong ito. Handa na ‘hong dumating ang mga simulator ng September o October,” said Tugade, after doing a site visit on the Valenzuela and Bulacan segments of the NSCR last week. 

The PNR Clark Phase 1 Project spans a total of 38 kilometers. It will run from the Tutuban Station in Manila through the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela and the municipalities of Meycuayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, and will end in Malolos City, Bulacan.

The PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos – Clark) spans a total of 54 kilometers. It will connect Malolos, Bulacan and Clark, Pampanga. This will also feature the country’s first “airport express,” which will reduce the travel time between Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Makati City from a minimum of two hours on the road to only an hour using the express. 

Phase 1 of the PNR Clark project is already at a total progress rate of 45.82 percent, while Phase 2 is currently at 28.79 percent. 

It has been revealed that Phase 2 of the project has been put off for about two decades and after four attempts. The North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project is a part of the current administration’s “Build, build, build” program.