Starting July 2, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) line to Calamba City will be closed for five years for the much-anticipated North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project construction. How are local government units in the province and Lagunenses preparing for the impact of the closure?
It’s now official! Laguna train commuters will have to contend with less transportation options starting July 2.
On that date, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) will suspend its commuter rail services from Alabang, Muntinlupa City to Calamba City.
According to the PNR, this is to give way for the much-anticipated construction of the southern portion of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba City.
”The Alabang to Calamba train service will be temporarily suspended to give way to a major construction that will result in a modern train service that will ferry more people, to more places, fast and safe,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Rails Cesar Chavez said in a recent statement.
Impractical?
Unlike the northern sector of the NSCR — from Manila to Clark, Pampanga — where train services had stopped since the 1990’s, speeding up the construction of the elevated railway line, the southern portion of the 147-kilometer railway line posed significant challenges for government officials.
PNR general manager Michael Ted Macapagal, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said that the original proposal had been to “relocate” the train tracks to allow train operations to continue during the construction period.
However, this plan was later discarded due to the substantial expense of up to P4 billion as well as the potential disruption and delays it could cause.
The NSCR Calamba sector is expected to become fully operational by 2029, according to officials.
Traffic
This meant that PNR and local government units along the railway line are now compelled to create contingency measures to mitigate the expected impacts of the construction of the NSCR.
Not only do local officials have to deal with the issue of providing relocation with residents along the PNR right-of-way whose houses will be demolished, they also have to set up plans for rerouting along major roads which cross the railway line.
“Ang usapan po naming [with the PNR] bago mag-commence ang construction ng NSCR ay magkakaroon kami ng another set of meetings para don sa actual alignment ng re-routing, lalo na sa mga papunta sa mga subdivision sa looban ng San Pedro,” Engr. Allan dela Cruz of the San Pedro City Engineering Office told OpinYon Laguna.
This is specifically important as major access roads to the city’s inner barangays such as Elvinda Road, Pacita Avenue and the San Vicente Road cross the PNR's right-of-way.
Relocation
“Nakipag-usap na rin po kami sa mga homeowners, especially since inaasahan namin na libo-libo ang maaapektuhan nito. Bukod yung tinamaan ng binili, bukod pa yung mismong nasa (road) right-of-way ng PNR, kasi pinalapad yung stations—ang original na right-of-way nila na 15 meters, ginawa na po kasi nilang 30 meters,” Dela Cruz explained.
Meanwhile, in Calamba City, Mayor Roseller Rizal said the city government is already preparing to offer assistance to the 2,130 families who will have to be relocated due to the construction of the NSCR.
“Yun pong mga pamilyang maaapektuhan, mayroon na po silang relocation pero by phase po naman. Una po natin silang bibigyan ng reolocation assistance, rental assistance, bibigyan po sila ng assistance for monthly basis, I think max is P5,000 a month,” Rizal told OpinYon Laguna during the sidelines of the Buhayani Festival press conference last June 8.
The mayor added that the city government expects to relocate 860 families, or 30 percent of the affected families, into permanent relocation sites by the end of the year.
“Ibig sabihin pag narelocate sila, ibig sabihin pag narelocate sila tigil na yung relocation assistance tuloy naman yung iba as such time na mangyari na every six months yata ay meron na tayong relocation para don sa mga kababayan natin,” Rizal said.
Alternate transpo
Another issue PNR and LGUs have to contend with is providing additional transportation options to commuters who will be affected by the suspension of its commuter services to Calamba City.
This — along with the expected future closing of the Alabang-Tutuban sector of the PNR in the next few months — is expected to put additional strain on a transportation sector that is still recovering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
PNR had earlier said it is talking with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to set up bus augmentation routes for commuters who will be affected by the closure.
However, local officials believe that whatever direct impact of the closure of the PNR to commuters will be slight, as PNR ridership to Laguna province has dropped since the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is reflected in PNR’s own data which noted that the two railway trips from Manila to Calamba — one northbound trip in the morning and one southbound trip in the evening — only carries an average of 467 passengers per trip.
“Sa ngayon naman po di naman po full operations ang PNR, but of course sinisiguro na rin po namin na kahit alisin sila diyan e ang transport services ay magiging maayos pa rin,” Calamba City Mayor Rizal said.