It will serve commuters from Clark all the way to Calamba.
Last Tuesday, October 13, 2026, several members of the government led by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), lawmakers from tje House of Representatives (HOR) and officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), conducted a joint site inspection of the facilities of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System.
The NSCR spans 147.26 kilometers across 30 local government units, the 35-station railway system will directly connect Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna.
It is jointly financed by the Government of Japan through the JICA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Once fully operational, the high-capacity system is designed to serve an estimated 800,000 passengers daily while reducing end-to-end travel time from over four hours to just two hours.
The joint inspection covered key operational hubs, including the Main Operations Control Center (OCC) at Clark depot, platform and track alignment progress at Balagtas station, and the Malanday Depot OCC.
At Malanday, the legislators tested the state-of-the-art train simulator and viewed up close the electric multiple unit (EMU) train sets stationed along the tracks.
All eight cars of the fourth trainset have been completely delivered and positioned at the Malanday Depot, noted the DOTr.
The project’s rolling stock is expected to feature 51 commuter train sets alongside 7 express train sets dedicated for direct airport service to CRK.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez stressed that inter-agency synergy and solid stakeholder partnership are vital to ensure the timely completion of the project.
“Building a modern transport system of this scale requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. With the firm backing of Congress and our project partners, we are pushing forward to ensure that the Filipinos get a world-class, reliable, safe and efficient commuter rail system,” Lopez said.
For his part, DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan disclosed the progressive opening timeline leading up to full system operations by 2033.
“We will open po in phases. Our first phase would be called Partial Operations 1—the first 27 kilometers and 7 stations will open po end of 2027. Next year po, makikita na natin na may tumatakbong tren po rito,” he said.
Batan then noted that then partial operations phase 2 will extend the line to Malolos to Clark Airport, for an additional 53 kilometers, will be open by end 2028 to early 2029.
“So by 2029, you can already take a train from Clark Airport all the way to Malanday in Valenzuela,” the official added.
Following the initial northern phases, operations will expand South from Alabang to Calamba by 2031, with the central segment connecting Valenzuela to Alabang targeted for full line operations by 2033.
Meanwhile, expressing firm legislative support for the Department’s timelines and objectives, House Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects Chairperson, Representative Kenneth Gatchalian assured the Congress’ full support.
“One thing I can assure you, Usec, and everyone in the Department is [that] we are here to support. We are all here to help out and to ensure na ma-achieve natin ‘yung target dates natin,” he said.
Also present during the joint inspection were Minister for Economic Affairs Naobumi Yokota from the Embassy of Japan; JICA Philippines Chief Representative Takashi Baba; Rep. Agatha Cruz, Rep. Elijah San Fernando, Rep. Antolin Oreta, Rep. Mark Anthony Santos, and Rep. Monique Yazmin Lagdameo; DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Eduardo Danilo Macabulos; and Posco E&C Project Manager JaeHeung Kim.
