NOT long from now, the Philippines would be owning its own version of Japan’s bullet train capable of significantly reducing travel time by as much as 75%.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTR) particularly hinted at what Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista described as game-changing North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and South Long Haul (SLH) rail projects that would revive the country's rail industry.
According to Bautista, the anticipated reduction in travel time from one region to another would help boost trade and commerce, hence creating more jobs.
Both the NSCR and SLH, the DOTR chief added, will not only elevate the country's railway to global standards but also ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
Citing feasibility studies, the DOTR said that the 14 to 18-hour travel time from Manila to Legazpi City (Albay) would just take a little more than four hours via the South Long Haul Project traversing 577 kilometers with a 33-station rail connection from Metro Manila to Batangas and Bicol.
Meanwhile, the almost five-hour trip from Calamba (Laguna) to Clark (Pampanga) is expected to be reduced to just a couple of hours using the North-South Commuter Railway express trains traversing 147 kilometers with 35 stations.
"We will build a world-class railroad network — the pride of not only Asia but the entire world. New, modern, and fast trains that will run from Clark to Calamba and continue to Bicol," an ecstatic Bautista said, adding that the NSCR and SLH will provide much-needed critical connectivity to Filipino commuters as the two mass rail infrastructures will link Metro Manila to the regions in northern and southern Luzon.
Bautista added that the two projects will generate more jobs, and contribute to making the country's public transportation more reliable.
"There is no doubt the NSCR and SLH Project will usher in the renaissance of the rail industry in the country," he emphasized.
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