PNR Clark phase 1 project nearing 50% completion

MANILA, Philippines — The first phase of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark project is almost 50 percent complete, according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

He said the project has a 45.82 percent progress rate and is expected to be finished in the second quarter of 2024 and partially operational by the fourth quarter.

Tugade said the project’s training simulator would arrive between September and October while the trains would arrive in December.

“This is very historical because there have been four attempts to do this project since 1993 and for the first time there is construction,” he said.

Tugade said 7,500 workers would be employed for the construction of the project while 2,000 additional jobs would be made available once it becomes operational.

He said 200 former overseas Filipino workers are employed in the project, adding that more OFWs aside from displaced public utility vehicle drivers and conductors would be hired.

PNR Clark Phase 1 is a 38-kilometer railway, the first segment of the massive North-South Commuter Railway.

It has 10 stations, spanning the cities of Manila, Caloocan, Valenzuela Meycauayan and Malolos, and towns of Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas and Guiguinto in Bulacan.

The project is expected to serve 300,000 passengers daily and reduce travel time from Malolos to Tutuban from an hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes.

Tugade said PNR Clark Phase 2, which will run from Malolos to Clark in Pampanga, is also moving along, with an overall progress rate standing at 27.79 percent as of January.