The North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) extension leading to New Clark City (NCC) in Pampanga is shown in illustration provided by the Department of Transportation.
MANILA: The high interest reportedly shown by several railway operators on the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project can be seen as proof that investors trust the government, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Wednesday (Dec 24).
In a statement, DOTr noted that the attendance of many representatives from companies during the pre-bid conference of the NSCR Operations and Maintenance is “very encouraging” as the administration looks to boost economic activity through public-private partnerships (PPP).
“’With the president’s PPP clearance for the operations and management of the NSCR under the private sector, it shows the administration’s trust in private firms to handle the country’s biggest railway system,” Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said.
“The high turnout also displays the investors’ confidence in our government and economy. The government and the private sector should really help each other so that we can improve the management of our transport infrastructure and make it more effective,” he added.
Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said the high turnout shows high interest from both international and local railway companies, especially after roadshows in Singapore, Paris, Manila and Japan.
“The turnout of the prospective bidders is very encouraging,” Batan observed.
“Our procurement for the operations and maintenance provider for the NSCR is very important because we know that it is not enough to build this line. It is also important for us to ensure that management of the rail system is also in order,” he explained.
Some of the firms that attended the pre-bid conference include the following:
>Japanese firms Tokyo Metro, JR East, JR West, Mitsubishi Corp. and Sumitomo Corp.
>French firms Transdev, RATP, Keolis and Alstom
>Local companies First Balfour, Inc. and San Miguel Corporation
The department said Sumitomo Corp’s representative Kosuke Takahashi and Transdev Group Business Development Director Marzio Stefano are finding out how the NSCR can ease road congestion in Metro Manila, which is the country’s busiest hub.
“This is a very big project and very challenging project,” Takahashi said.
“We believe that the North-South Commuter Railway will change the people of Manila. Maybe they will experience new railway system and a new movement method from North to South,” he noted.
For his part, Stefano said, “There is a huge need of public transportation in Philippines, which is here in Manila, the huge congestion there is.”
“The North-South Commuter Railway can be a great help for the community and operator like us. With our expertise we can really contribute in bringing international expertise in this project in the Philippines,” he added.
RATP Dev. S.A. Business Development Head Benoit Vo Dinh said the project can fix traffic congestion problems, noting that he too has been stuck in Metro Manila traffic jams that are exacerbated by the lack of viable public transportation.
“When I did the site visits, I stayed about seven hours stuck in traffic around Manila,” Vo Dinh recalled.
“So you can really see and feel how the project will completely change the way Filipino people and the inhabitants around Manila move and live,” he said.
The NSCR project, a 147-kilometre system, will connect provinces from the northern side of Luzon to areas south of Metro Manila, traversing from the Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna.
Once completed, it is meant to reduce travel time from Clark to Calamba from the usual four hours of land travel to just two and a half hours.
DOTr said it will feature the country’s first Airport Express Service, which will connect Clark to Makati in less than an hour, and Clark to Alabang in less than one hour and 15 minutes.
The NSCR system will also launch the country’s first ‘Through Train Interoperations’ with the Metro Manila Subway.
The 35-station rail system is expected to generate 350,000 jobs during construction and operations, while serving almost one million passengers daily at full operations.
Partial operations for the NSCR’s Valenzuela to Malolos segment is set to start by December 2027, while the Malolos to Clark segment is targeted to be running by October 2028. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
