President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the public-private partnership for the operations and maintenance project of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).
The NSCR is a 147.26-kilometer elevated railway line that will connect Pampanga to Laguna, opening up access across Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and the CALABARZON region.
With the PPP, the rail system is guaranteed to have efficient, reliable, and sustainable operations once operational.
After construction is finished, the new railway system will feature 35 stations. Among them are 31 elevated stations, 3 at-grade stations, and one underground station. It will have depots located in strategic locations: Clark, Pampanga in Central Luzon; Valenzuela City in Metro Manila; and Calamba City in Southern Luzon.
In its full capacity operation, the NSCR is expected to service 800,000 passengers daily at first, gradually increasing to accommodate one million passengers per day.
Meanwhile, there will be two types of services that will operate on the line. First is the commuter service, which can accommodate up to more than 2,200 passengers in its 51 trainsets.
Second is the "Limited Express" service, which will operate with seven trainsets, with a capacity of transporting around 400 passengers.
To ensure a fast and reliable service, trains will operate at high speeds ranging from 120 to 130 kilometers per hour—a significant boost in travel speed compared to the current average of 20 to 40 kilometers per hour.
Estimated travel time from Clark to Calamba is expected to be around three hours.
On the other hand, the Limited Express will reduce Clark-to-Alabang trips to about two hours. Minimum train headway is estimated to be three minutes.
In addition, the NSCR system will also be integrated with the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), particularly in the FTI to Bicutan segment.
Pre-operations are scheduled to begin in March 2026, with full operations targeted for January 2032.
The total cost of the project is estimated to reach P229.32 billion.