By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
The second phase of the massive North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, also known as the Malolos-Clark extension of the NSCR, is now 27.79 percent complete according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“The 54-kilometer PNR Clark Phase 2 segment, which will run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga, now stands at 27.79 percent overall progress rate, as of 31 January 2021,” the DOTr said in a Facebook post on Friday.
So far, it said pre-construction activities for the project are ongoing such as site inspections at the Clark International Airport (CRK) and Apalit Station with actual groundbreaking for the project projected by May this year.
“Once partially operating in 2022, travel time between Bulacan and Pampanga will be trimmed down to just 30-35 minutes, from the original 1 hour and 30 minutes,” the DOTr said.
The project, it said, also features the country’s first “Airport Express Service” that will reduce travel time between CRK in Pampanga and Makati City to a one-hour-train ride from the usual two-hour drive.
In September, all five civil works contract packages for the Malolos-Clark extension of the NSCR have been awarded to both local and international contractors.
The PNR Clark Phase 2 is the northern segment of the 147-kilometer NSCR which will run from Clark, Pampanga all the way to Calamba, Laguna.
The NSCR will have 37 stations across 26 local government units in three different regions.
