THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) on Thursday said the Balagtas Station of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project was now 95 percent complete. This station is a key part of the planned partial operation between Clark International Airport and West Valenzuela stations by December 2027.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the near completion of the Balagtas Station was in preparation for the NSCR’s partial operation between Clark International Airport and West Valenzuela stations by December 2027.
The Balagtas Station is part of the NSCR’s Malolos-Tutuban segment, which includes eight other stations, including the Tutuban Station, Solis Station, Caloocan Station, West Valenzuela Station, Meycauayan Station, Marilao Station, Bocaue Station, Guiguinto Station and Malolos Station. These stations form the northern leg of the project.
Bautista said the materials used in the construction of the Balagtas Station were state-of-the-art and environment-friendly.
“These are state-of-the-art materials and environment-friendly. The designs are very different from other stations,” Bautista said during an inspection of the Balagtas Station and Malanday Depot in Valenzuela on Thursday.
“This is really a part of what we call the railway renaissance in the Philippines,” he added.
A 180-meter-long structure, the Balagtas Station’s facilities include a concourse and platform, two elevators, six escalators and other features that are gender-inclusive and accessible to senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
The 14-hectare Malanday Depot, meanwhile, has a 72.10 percent overall completion rate as of end-June 2024. The depot features four major buildings, including an operation control center.
Consisting of 35 stations in between, the elevated NSCR system will be 147 kilometers long and run from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna, reducing end-to-end travel time from the current four hours to less than two hours via train. TMT
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