The Philippine National Railways (PNR) announced on Wednesday that it is suspending its operations in Metro Manila for five years.

Operations halted on March 28 to give way to the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project.

In a press conference, PNR chairman Michael Macapagal said: “The whole Metro Manila route will temporarily close because we could not move the rails because of right-of-way issues, number one. Number two, as I mentioned it is for the safety of the passengers, we cannot put them at risk and more so the construction workers.”

He appealed to the passengers to bear with the temporary inconvenience since the construction of the new railway would lead to traffic decongestion.

"The PNR is asking for your patience and understanding. This project will help de-clog and help in the decongestion of the traffic in Metro Manila," he said.

Macapagal said the PNR route from Governor Pascual to Tutuban will be affected.

However, he assured that once the construction finishes, it will be able to accommodate up to 800,000 passengers a day and cut travel time by half, from eight to four hours.

Macapagal also said that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are discussing having a cargo component to the NSCR.

He added that the railway will also connect Clark Airport to the Manila Airport.

Macapagal said they procured 60 commuter trains from Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Sumitomo.

“The DOTr, JICA, and a proponent are in talks of adding a cargo component to the NSCR project,” Macapagal said.

“I will leave it to the secretary and to the DOTr to make that announcement after they finish the study,” he added.

The 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway system will link Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna, and is expected to begin its partial operations in 2027.

The P873-billion project is co-funded by JICA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Jaspearl Tan/DMS