The stations also involve multiple contractors. Guiguinto’s station work is done by Sumitomo, while the Taisei-DMCI Joint Venture handles the Valenzuela site.
Government officials say progress has accelerated in recent months, particularly in the right-of-way acquisition.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez described 2025 as “a banner year” for land acquisition, noting that 56 percent of the North segment’s required land had been cleared by December — a dramatic increase from just two percent in February.
“2025 was truly a banner year for our right-of-way efforts because we sped up land acquisition so commuters could immediately benefit from the subway and the NSCR,” Lopez said.
As of December 2025, the Department of Transportation had acquired 90.76 percent of the required right-of-way and properties for the Metro Manila Subway Project, while at least 56 percent of the land required for the NSCR North segment had been cleared.
The number of acquired properties in the NSCR North surged to 1,143 parcels by December, up from only 38 parcels in February.
Momentum is also building in the Clark extension. The first major support beam has been installed in Clark, while the first rails were welded at the Mabalacat Depot earlier this year.
The Clark segment spans roughly 6.5 kilometers, featuring an underground station at Clark International Airport, elevated bridges, and depot access.
Still, visible progress varies across the corridor.
In the southern section of the line, right-of-way acquisition continues to delay construction. Only four of the 19 planned station sites have been cleared so far — EDSA, Cabuyao, Sta. Rosa in Laguna and the Banlic depot.
“I need the contractors, the consultants, and DoTr to work closely together,” Lopez said.
Construction is advancing in other areas. Contract Package S-03B, funded by the Asian Development Bank and worth P22.13 billion, covers viaducts and at-grade structures, including the elevated Buendia station and stations at EDSA and Senate-DepEd.
Construction began on 15 March 2024 under the Leighton-First Balfour Joint Venture, with a 54-month completion schedule.
On the ground, workers describe the engineering solution in practical terms.
“The tracks will be raised so they won’t pass through intersections anymore,” one worker said at the Buendia construction site.
Before operations were halted in March 2024, the aging PNR commuter system carried 20,000 to 22,000 passengers daily, or roughly eight million riders annually.
Promise of economic travel
For many working-class commuters from Laguna, Alabang, Paco, and Tutuban, it was the cheapest way into Metro Manila.
For commuters who once relied on the PNR line, the memories remain vivid.
“It was extremely crowded, and it wasn’t convenient because the next train would only arrive every hour,” said a former student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa.
For a fare of P15 to P60, commuters could travel from Tutuban to Calamba in under three hours.
The trains were slow and often crowded, but they offered something rare in Metro Manila — a way to avoid the traffic.
The NSCR promises something far more ambitious — a modern electrified commuter railway capable of carrying up to 800,000 passengers daily, nearly 40 times the volume once handled by the old commuter system.
Yet, until the trains finally begin to run, commuters remain caught between the railway that once operated and the one that has yet to arrive beyond the PNR tracks.
(To be continued)
