IN his third State of the Nation Address on July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines was "in the midst of a railway renaissance," adding that several major rail projects under his administration's watch were making progress. He pledged to resolve right-of-way issues in order that these projects' implementation would not be impeded.
The President's remarks mirror those that Jorjette Aquino, Transportation assistant secretary for railways, made at a railway conference in Pasay City in late June. She told rail executives and experts at that gathering that the country was about to enter a "railway renaissance" once a network of railways was completed and unified to boost the country's economy and regional cooperation.
She said 23 out of her department's 69 infrastructure projects would improve and expand that network.
"The significant share of railways in the list of infrastructure flagship projects showcases [President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s] administration's thrust and commitment to the revival of the Philippine railway network through its Build Better More campaign," Aquino said.
That commitment — and that promise to usher in that period of easier commuter connectivity — is embodied in the government's 30-year rail master plan. This plan covers the National Capital Region and densely populated regions, including Northern and Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
For Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista, the master plan will serve as a "springboard" for discussions toward the sustainable operations of forthcoming rail systems.
Bautista said the ongoing railway development would not only involve longer rail lines and more trains but also the comfort and safety of passengers.
The establishment of ultra-modern railway networks, he said, would mean better connectivity and train commuting experience that will put Metro Manila on a par with Tokyo in Japan, Shanghai in China, Seoul in South Korea and other metropolises with existing reliable train systems.
The Transport chief also said, like all congested cities worldwide, the long-term goal of the ongoing construction of railway systems was to present permanent solutions to Metro Manila's chronic traffic problem while offering comfortable, efficient and accessible public transport as a better alternative to owning private vehicles.
But the real challenge is how best to bridge the gap between the government's vision of an ideal rail industry and the current status of the country's rail system operations.
Nevertheless, Bautista vowed that Filipinos would be able to have that modern and reliable railway system in the near future.
Inter-agency coordination
The success of these rail projects hinges on their timely completion. This, in turn, requires the cooperation of multiple government agencies.
Even the Supreme Court is eager to help facilitate the swift completion of these big-ticket transport projects. Recently, it designated additional regional trial courts as special expropriation courts to ensure the quick resolution of expropriation cases involving national railway projects.
These courts were directed to prioritize these cases in accordance with the requirements under Republic Act 10752, or the Right-of-Way Act, and existing rules and guidelines.
These railway projects were the Metro Manila Subway, the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, and the Philippine National Railway (PNR) North and South Long Hauls.
Underground railway
Dubbed the "Project of the Century," the Metro Manila Subway is the country's first underground railway.
Consisting of 17 stations, the 33-kilometer (km) line will run north to south from the cities of Valenzuela and Quezon through Pasig and Taguig up to Parañaque and Pasay.
The subway will become the country's second direct airport rail link after the North-South Commuter Railway with a branch line to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Once completed, commuting between Quezon City and NAIA will be faster, seamless and more convenient, cutting down travel time from 1 hour and 10 minutes — excluding traffic — to 35 minutes.
The project is expected to cost P355.6 billion; much of which is covered by a loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
It is scheduled to open in 2025 partially and is projected to be fully operational by 2029.
North–South Railway
NSCR is the Philippines' state-of-the-art, 147-km rail line that is expected to shorten travel time from Clark in Pampanga all the way to Calamba in Laguna by less than two hours. It can accommodate 800,000 passengers a day.
It will also help decongest Metro Manila's traffic and strengthen economic growth in all the cities and municipalities it would be passing through.
Partial operations are expected to begin by 2026, and full operations by 2029.
Long-haul train systems
The 853-km PNR North Long Haul project is an inter-regional railway system connecting the National Capital Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon. It will include passenger railway stations, cargo terminals, maintenance depots, operations control centers, connectivity to seaports and transit-oriented developments. It is envisioned to link strategic infrastructure such as the Clark Freeport Zone, Puro Point, Laoag International Airport, Port Irene and Lal-lo Airport.
The PNR South Long Haul project will involve reconstructing the old South Main Line and its branch to Batangas City. The project was supposed to be financed by Chinese official development assistance but was withdrawn in 2023.
Line extensions
The Light Railway Transit (LRT) Line 1 will be extended further south by 11.7 km from its current terminal station at Baclaran in Parañaque to Niog station in Bacoor, Cavite.
Once fully operational, this line will reduce travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor to 25 minutes and is expected to increase its ridership from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers.
Partial operations of Phase 1 of the project, which covers five stations in Parañaque — Redemptorist, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino and Dr. Santos — will begin before 2024 ends.
LRT-1 private operator Light Rail Manila Corp. said once Phase 1 was operational, an affordable and comfortable mobility option — one that is accessible to other transport hubs — would become available to commuters.
LRT Line 2, on the other hand, will be extended 3 km westward from the current terminal station on C.M. Recto Avenue to North Harbor, hosting three additional stations: Tutuban, Divisoria and Pier 4.
Digital change
The railway sector is also undergoing a massive digital transformation that, Bautista said, was crucial in "future-proofing" the country's rail operations.
He said modernization was the only way to raise the country's mass transport system to the same level as other more advanced nations.
Digitizing Philippine railway operations, the Transportation head added, means building a "solid and fully connected technology-stacked rail sector."
To do this, Bautista said, it is imperative that areas where bottlenecks in the sector occur are upgraded and proper infrastructure is implemented to increase capacity.
Also, to accelerate the digitization of the country's railways, the government must change how it operates the sector.
For the Philippines' railway system to achieve enhanced system efficiency, "We need to embrace this digital evolution towards a people-centric transport sector transformation," Bautista said.
He told The Manila Times that digitization efforts come with equipping railway human resources — operators, engineers and other personnel — with the latest technology in order that the sector could develop new and better services to passengers.
The country's railway operators and personnel have been training through the state-of-the-art training simulators grant from the Japanese government to the Philippine Railways Institute.
Bautista said more innovations would happen soon to improve the railway workforce in partnership with railway operators, end-users and digital transformation experts.
The transformation of the railway sector is "just warming up," and a lot more will be implemented in the near future, he added.