Return of the railroads

Residents of Malolos, Bulacan just sigh in resignation whenever they see the slow work on huge concrete posts that are supposed to carry elevated rail tracks running from Clark to Manila while cutting through their city. This government undertaking, now known as the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, has been in the pipeline since the 1990s.

A recent developing snafu had moved target completion dates by a good nine months to June 2025. It appears that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) has been several months remiss in its payments to a contractor, and has also been delayed in turning over land on which the operations control center of the 51.2-kilometer main line from Malolos to Clark and Clark International Airport will be built.

DoTr recently issued a statement that it was doing its utmost best to resolve both the delayed payment and land issues, which should appease not only Malolos residents, but all those who look forward to cutting travel time from Manila to Clark to only about half an hour.

Slippages in meeting the original construction timeline of the Philippine government’s infrastructure projects are almost the rule rather than the exception, and other than technical problems, right of way issues and exposes of grand graft and corruption are often causes for delays or cancellations.

The North-South Commuter Railway project, of which the Malolos-Clark segment is just one segment, is peppered with a colorful history from which our government can draw a ton of valuable lessons if it were serious about not repeating the same problems in future projects.

Neglected railroads

While many countries have prioritized commuter trains to serve as the main public transportation backbone connecting their rural areas to urban centers, the Philippines has opted to neglect what had once been an efficient system of travel until the 1980s.

In 1891, the Spaniards inaugurated the Manila-Dagupan Ferrocaril line, which eventually extended father northwards to Baguio and Damortis in La Union. Going to the south, the trains would run up to Legazpi City in the Bicol region.

Our history books will also tell about how the Americans before the Second World War had built a network of rail lines connecting the bustling trading district of Tutuban in Divisoria, Manila to Naic in Cavite, Pagsanjan in Laguna, Montalban in Rizal, and Bulacan.

WWII had destroyed these lines, and while they were restored post war, the eventual shifting of government support to building superhighways and more airports instead starved the railroads of money for proper maintenance and upgrading.

Funding constraints and corruption issues

By the time the Philippine government, during the Ramos presidency, realized the importance of commuter trains, the country was deep in debt from capital flight and a collapse of state-owned companies during the Martial Law years.

In fact, even if the Spanish government had in principle agreed to help build a Manila-Clark rapid railway system during Ramos’ time, funding disagreements in the engineering, procurement, and construction terms paved the way for the dissolution of the contract.

The next time the Manila-Clark rail project would resurface, it would infamously be known as the NorthRail project, hogged by accusations of irregularities in the bidding process and the signing of loan agreements with the Export-Import Bank of China.

The project would eventually be cancelled, even after early construction started. The people of Malolos still remember the NorthRail columns rising during those days, only to be demolished when the government, with finality, aborted the whole plan.

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s successor, paranoid about corruption controversies, as well as a general dislike for taking in more loans, would dig his heels over any attempts to resume plans for investing in railroads, no matter how much the country’s economy would benefit.

Japanese support

Instead of a Malolos-Clark rail line, former president Benigno Aquino III would, at the last months of his term, approve a North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) plan, this time including the rehabilitation and extension of train lines to the south of Luzon. It is Japan that would throw in support.

Japanese soft loans, compared to that offered by China’s Exim Bank, carry far favorable repayment terms. Both the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank, without any hint of under-the-table deals, agreed to extend loans to give the NSCR a real chance to break ground.

Hopefully, more new lines

Today, Filipinos can look forward to seeing the completion of that dream to build a commuter train service running from the length of Luzon from north to south, and cutting across Metro Manila, come true, thereby bringing the comforts and ease of travel that our citizens deserve.

It may not be the state-of-the-art bullet trains that developed economies like Japan, China, and Europe already boast of, but it signals the opening up of much improved travel modes for Filipinos. Plus, it’s really already in the works, with the first part of the north rail line expected to be operational by 2025, and partial operations of the improved south line up to Calamba City starting also by 2025.

Up next would be the extended lines, which are all being discussed at the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). More commuter lines are on the table, including for other regions outside of Luzon.

The PNR South Long Haul project is something to look forward to, which would feature freight trains that will carry produce and goods deeper south of Luzon. The planned freight trains from the Port of Manila to the Batangas International Port likewise deserves support.

Definitely, trains are back.

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