DOTr Begins Civil Works on NSCR Tutuban-Bocaue Segment

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has started civil works for the Tutuban-Bocaue section of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project. DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade hosted the Start of Works ceremony Monday May 20, at the NSCR Valenzuela Depot.

Tugade signed the civil works contract on the project together with Taisei Corporation Managing Executive Officer Keiji Hirano, who represents Taisei - D.M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI) Joint Venture, the contractor in charge of building the project. DMCI president and CEO Jorge Consunji served as witness to the contract signing.

"We all gather today to formally start the construction of the 2nd Phase of this railway system from Tutuban to Bocaue," Tugade said. "This railway system will be completed and operational on the fourth quarter of 2021."

In his speech, Tugade thanked Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for its continued "trust and confidence" in the DOTr. He also thanked the local government of Bulacan represented by Rep. Sherwin Tugna for its cooperation in the project.

The ceremony was also attended by Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan, Undersecretary for Finance Garry De Guzman, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Reinier Paul Yebra, Philippine National Railways (PNR) Chairman Roberto Lastimoso, PNR General Manager Junn Magno, Assistant Secretary for Mindanao Projects Eymard Eje, and Assistant Secretary for Maritime Lino Dabi.

Aside from the Tutuban-Bulacan segment, Tugade also touched on the Malolos-Clark segment of the said railway system, saying that bidding and construction on the segment will begin in July 2019 and the target for completion will be in 2022.

The NSCR project, which falls under Contract Package 1 of Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1, is a 37.6-kilometer mass railway transportation railway that will be seamlessly integrated with PNR North 2 and PNR south to form one railway system that will serve commuters traveling to, from and within the National Capital Region, Region III and Region IV-A.

When completed, the railway will connect Malolos, Bulacan to the National Capital Region. It includes the construction of six railway stations in Solis, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue, and is expected to reduce the point-to-point average of one hour and 30 minutes to just 35 minutes.