Manila – Clark only 45 minutes by train before 2032

Travel from Manila to Clark in Pampanga will only take approximately 45 minutes through the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), expected to be finished by 2032.

Recently, Transport Secretary Vince Dizon and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno led the clearing operations along Old Antipolo Road corner Abad Santos St. in Manila to allow the delayed construction of the NSCR.

According to Moreno, if the NSCR is already in full operation, it will only take commuters about 45 minutes to ride from Manila to Clark Airport.

“Want to ride to the airport in Clark? This is no exaggeration. On a good day, the people of Manila, I [can] just ride at the Solis Station. I’m carrying my suitcase. I’ll get off right inside the Clark Airport. I don’t need to ride again … straight, I’ll be in Clark … I think this is about a 45-minute ride, less than one hour,” said Mayor Isko.

Sec. Dizon noted that through the railway, commuters traveling from Solis to Buendia or Magallanes will only take around 15 minutes to get there.

“Assuming someone works in Makati, just walk a little to Solis, get off at Buendia, get off at Magallanes. It’s very easy… maybe less than 15 minutes. So, this is really a big deal,” Dizon said in Filipino.

Dizon said that while the whole 190-kilometer NSCR project from Clark to Calamba, Laguna, is set to be finished by 2032, he is confident construction from Solis to Blumentritt stations located in Manila will be completed by 2028.

“I’m confident that by 2028, this from Solis to Blumentritt will be completed,” Dizon said in Filipino.

Dizon also announced they will build a flood control and bike lane under the NSCR line that cuts across Metro Manila.

“Yorme has requested, and we have approved, the one under the railway, because our railway is elevated. So, the one under the railway, we will build additional flood control there,” Dizon said.

“And above the flood control, we will build a bike lane and a pedestrian lane so that our colleagues, our fellow countrymen from Manila as well as in Antipolo, will have a safe passage under our railway,” he added.

The transportation chief also said they are also planning to build mini parks leveled on the roads, to be funded by DOTr.

Dizon said the project will now proceed after it was shelved for two years due to right-of-way issues.

He pointed out the right-of-way for the NSCR has been narrowed; thus, the structures, such as houses, as well as the schools and church in the area, will no longer be affected by the project.

“We can save all the houses here. Even the church, we can save that. In the original plan, we were going to cut down all the houses here,” Dizon said.

“Now, because of help from Yorme – Yorme’s suggestion – our engineers have found a solution that no longer requires us to demolish the houses and the various other structures,” he added.

According to the Mayor, over 50 houses and institutions along the Old Antipolo Road will be saved by the narrowed right-of-way on the project.

“We are happy. When I go from house to house there, I can say, ‘you can sleep soundly. Nothing will happen to you,’ which I think is very important in community participation. When there is a big project, when the community is involved and they have assurance or some level of assurance, I think you will have the support of the community,” said the mayor.