The proposed extension of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) to New Clark City has cleared a key regulatory hurdle after securing concurrence from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), advancing the project toward a feasibility study.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said the concurrence provides a “green light” for extending the railway to New Clark City in Tarlac, strengthening its connection to Luzon’s growing rail network.
“What’s new about this project is that this will extend all the way to New Clark City,” Bingcang told reporters on the sidelines of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) Forum.
The proposed extension will undergo a feasibility study involving the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he said.
Initial preparations for the next phase are also underway, with market sounding already conducted as authorities explore potential participants for the project’s detailed engineering design.
“As I understand, they already did a market sounding,” Bingcang said.
The extension is expected to improve New Clark City’s accessibility and further integrate the planned development into Central Luzon’s transport network.
Bingcang described the project as “game-changing infrastructure” for Clark, citing its potential to support New Clark City’s growth as an economic center.
JICA identifies the Clark–New Clark City segment as Phase 2 of the NSCR Extension Project. The planned route would extend the railway from Clark in Pampanga to New Clark City, Tarlac, with the broader goal of improving transport links and expanding the Greater Capital Region’s economic reach.
