Sunday, June 25, 2017

Marilao, Meycauayan, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Tutuban railway stations to be marked

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will lead Monday, June 26, the marking of the five stations of the Manila-Clark Railway Project, the line that will connect Manila to Central Luzon.

The five of the 17 stations that will be marked in a ceremony include Marilao and Meycauayan in Bulacan, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Tutuban in Metro Manila. The 12 other stations are: Solis, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, Clark International Airport, and the proposed New Clark City in Pampanga.

The 106-km railway project that will run from Tutuban, Manila to Clark, Pampanga is among the high-impact projects of President Rodrigo Duterte under the government’s ‘Build Build Build’ infrastructure program.

“Itong malaking proyektong ito, dati ay usap-usapan lang. Ngunit sa administrasyong Duterte, gagawin natin itong katotohanan,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said. “For the first time, a rail project will connect Manila to Central Luzon and it will be completed under the Duterte administration.”

With this rail project, the two-hour travel time from Manila to Clark will be cut down to just 55 minutes. The rail system stands to benefit 350,000 passengers daily on its first year of operations.

Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Junn Magno said the project is seen to decongest Metro Manila and spread economic gains throughout the country.

“This project will ease traffic congestion and help thousands of commuters coming from Bulacan and Pampanga who travel daily to their workplaces or schools in Metro Manila,” Magno said.

According to the DOTr, the project will start construction in the last quarter of 2017 and will be completed by the last quarter of 2021 (initial phase).

The project costs PHP 255 billion (105 billion for Tutuban-Malolos, 150 billion for Malolos-Clark) and will be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan. The whole line will have 13 train sets with eight cars or coaches per train set. Each train can reach a maximum speed of 120 km per hour.

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