The Philippine government has delayed the full operation of the much-awaited North-South Commuter Railway by one year, a Palace official said on Thursday, due to the halt in government spending on state-run projects, including public-private partnerships.

Palace press officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro revealed this as part of the outcome of the 11th Economy and Development Council Meeting on Wednesday at Malacañang Palace, presided over by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and attended by other key Cabinet officials, including Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez.

Castro said the delays in the timeline were due to several issues, including budget adjustments and right-of-way woes.

“For the North-South Commuter Railway Operations and Maintenance and PPP project, there were changes concerning the timeline. As we all know, the government has to tighten its belt when it comes to spending this year, as well as careful spending of government funds. There was also an issue with procurement and right-of-way,” she said.

However, Castro said the first partial operation of the Valenzuela-to-Malolos segment will remain in December 2027.

“The second partial operation of the Malolos to Clark will be in the fourth quarter of 2028. While the third partial operation of Clark-Solis, Alabang to Calamba, will be in the fourth quarter of 2031. The full operation of Clark ng Calamba is now set in the third quarter ng 2033,” she said.

Based on the original plan, the NSCR was expected to be fully operational by January 2032.

“Usually, amendments in the timelines also involves adjustment on the budget,” she said.

Castro, however, did not give further details on how much of the budget was slashed for the railway project.

Other matters discussed during the meeting were the Mactan-Cebu International Airport PPP project; the Supporting Innovation in the Philippine Technical and Vocational Education and Training System Project; the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao; the Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers, or REFUEL, Project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development; and the Department of Education's proposal to delineate decisions on class suspensions during inclement weather.

The NSCR is a 147-kilometer urban rail system currently under construction that connects New Clark City in Tarlac and Clark International Airport in the north to Calamba, Laguna, in the south, passing through Metro Manila.

The NSCR features 36 stations across Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Calabarzon and is designed to transport up to 800,000 passengers daily.

The railway system will cut travel time from Clark to Calamba to around 1.5 hours and is funded by the government, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.