The Department of Transportation (DOTr) reported the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) as on track for partial operations in three years, around December 2027, with 81.69 percent of the Clark Depot in Pampanga already done.
Spread over 33 hectares, the Clark depot houses a stabling yard, an integral bridge, and 48 depot buildings and facilities, crucial in the operations of the entire NSCR alignment.
Significant progress has been achieved in major engineering works such as the structural, mechanical, electrical, and mechanical works of buildings at the depot. The waterproofing of panel installations on roofs, gutters, and drywalls of the workshop, light repair shop, operations control center, and training center all reported significant progress.
The depot’s workshop, a two-storey industrial building, is responsible for the heavy maintenance of rolling stock. This structure is now 87.35 percent complete, with building works 99.99 percent completed.
The single-storey light repair shop for the maintenance of rolling stock and related railway functions is 82.01 percent complete as well.
Another major structure, the five-storey operations control center (OCC), is an office-type building with a basement for MEP and E&M utilities inside the structure. Its main function is to host the management system that operates through network communication with OCC Valenzuela which manages the N1, and OCC Calamba which manages the South-Commuter Railway.
The depot also houses a training center for the development of operator resources for the MCRP, NSCR and NSRP-South through on-site training or drills for employees, and for reskilling and training countermeasures in rail accidents.
The Clark Depot ensures the interoperability of the NSCR system from Clark in Pampanga all the way to Calamba in Laguna.
A flagship project under the “Build Better More” program, the railway network spans across 148 kilometers and 37 stations on 464 train cars encompassing three segments―the PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos), PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) and PNR Calamba (Solis-Calamba).
The rail line runs across 26 cities and municipalities in Central Luzon, the National Capital Region and Calabarzon and will serve over 800,000 passengers daily when operational.
