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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be halting operations for the next five years starting Maundy Thursday, March 28, 2024 to give way to the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).
The last trips from Governor Pascual to Tutuban and Tutuban to Alabang will be on March 27. The closure is expected to affect around 300,000 Filipinos in Metro Manila who ride the trains every day.
In the meantime, buses on the Tutuban-Alabang route and vice versa will be expected to drop off and pick up passengers along the current PNR route.
Southbound buses will pass through the following areas:
Divisoria (Tutuban)
Mayhaligue Street
Abad Santos Avenue
Recto Avenue
Legarda Street
Quirino Avenue
Nagtahan Flyover
Mabini Bridge
Quirino Avenue
Osmeña Highway
Nichols Entry
SLEX
Bicutan Exit
Bicutan Entry
Alabang (Starmall)
Meanwhile, northbound buses will pass through the following areas:
Alabang (Starmall)
Manila South Road
East Service Road
Alabang (Entry)
SLEX, Bicutan Exit
Bicutan Entry
Nichols Exit
Osmeña Highway
Quirino Avenue
Legarda Street
Recto Avenue
Abad Santos Avenue
Mayhaligue Street
Divisoria (Tutuban)
Here are the proposed bus stops for southbound and northbound buses near PNR stations, along with the trip schedules, according to the Department of Transportation:
Jeremy Regino, the current rails undersecretary who was the then-PNR general manager, previously told Rappler that the PNRs Metro Manila trains will be transferred to its southern operations. (READ: PNR to stop operations in NCR by January 2024, resume trips to South Luzon)
“The loss of Metro Manila actually will be the gain of the Southern Luzon and Bicol area,” Regino told Rappler last October 2023. “Slowly, we are fixing the south.”
According to the Department of Transportation, halting the PNR will speed up the construction of the NSCR by 8 months, saving P15.18 billion in costs. The NSCR will be built along the same alignment used by the PNR in Metro Manila.
Once completed, the NSCR will run from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna. The mega railway project is expected to accommodate up to 800,000 passengers per day.
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