The Department of Transportation (DOTr) targets to roll out the bidding of the operations and maintenance (O&M) of two big-ticket railway projects in the second half of 2024.
Timothy John Batan, Department of Transportation (DOTr) undersecretary for planning, said the O&M contracts for the Metro Manila Subway Project and the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) are scheduled in separate bidding dates in the second half of the year.
“We will be very busy this year. Coming on the heels of the NAIA PPP turning out to be a massive success, we will replicate what we did at NAIA,” Batan said.
He reported the construction of the Manila Subway is in full swing and in schedule.
“We’re expecting the first segment to be completed in 2027 and full operations by 2029,” Batan said.
Civil works proceed as scheduled at the 36-km Metro Manila Subway Project. With 17 stations, the line will reduce travel time from Valenzuela City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 from 1.5 hours to only 35 minutes.
The P488.5 billion subway project is seen serving 370,000 passengers a day on its first year of full operations with capacity to serve up to 1 million passengers a day in later years.
The MMSP will be physically connected and interoperable with the North-South Commuter Railway System’s south segment, enabling passengers to take the subway and board at the North Avenue Station and get off at the Calamba Station of the NSCR.
The NSCR is expected to begin partial operations in the second quarter of 2027, starting at the segment from West Valenzuela to Malolos. Full operation will start in the third quarter of 2029.
A flagship project under the Build Better More Program, the NSCR spans over 148 kilometers with 37 stations and 464 train cars that encompassing three segments—the PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos), PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba (Solis-Calamba).
This mass transport project stretching across 26 cities and municipalities in the three regions of Central Luzon, the National Capital Region and CALABARZON is designed to serve over a million passengers daily when fully operational.
The project will reduce travel time between Clark, Pampanga and Calamba, Laguna to just two hours and service over 800,000 passengers daily once operational.
