University of Eastern Philippines

College of Engineering

CE 103a - Highway and

Railroad Engineering
(Written Report)

Submitted by:
Carretero, Trissa Ricci C.
BSCE-3A / 203274

Submitted to:
Engr. Krisaline June Flores
Instructor
 Rail transport in the Philippines is becoming a more popular mode of
transportation for both passengers and cargo. Such modes of transportation are
typically used for both short-distance travel within major cities and long-distance
travel. The Philippine railway network includes one commuter rail service
operated by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and a rapid transit system
operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority and Metro Rail Transit Corporation.
The Strong Republic Transit System, a project aimed at improving interchanges
from one line to another, integrated all three services. The Philippines' railway
network is undergoing a transformation after years of mismanagement and
underinvestment that left it in disrepair. From an apex of over 1100 route-km
prior to WWII, the country had only 77 route-km of operational main line, light
rail, and metro routes left by 2016, serving the Manila conurbation and its 128
million residents spread across an area of 638 km2. It almost goes without saying
that this level of railway provision in relation to population is far lower than that
found in other Asian megacities. Due to a lack of rail infrastructure, the
Philippines relies heavily on road transportation, which carries approximately
98% of passenger traffic and 55% of freight. According to the government's
National Economic and Development Authority, road congestion, particularly in
and around Manila, resulted in estimated economic losses of around US$24.8
billion per year in 2016. Low-income families, particularly children, women, the
elderly, and people with disabilities, cannot easily travel to schools, markets,
employment, and social services without access to safe and efficient public
transportation. This exacerbates the disparity in economic growth between urban
and rural areas.

In order to address some of these large-scale policy challenges, the

government launched a major infrastructure stimulus program called 'Build,
Build, Build' in April 2017. This was meant to fill gaps in the country's road,
railway, and bridge infrastructure, as well as in water resource management,
social infrastructure, information technology, and the power and utilities sector,
and was valued at US$160 billion. The BBB program aims to lure more
investment to the Philippines, connect regions and markets, and create much-
needed jobs in order to help the country develop into an upper-middle-income
economy. Increased infrastructure spending has been one of the Duterte
administration's major economic policy initiatives, and this includes a major
upgrade to Manila's urban transit system. For nearly two decades, Manila's mass
transit was served by three lines that struggled with service and maintenance
issues. These lines are being upgraded and expanded, while two new lines, the
MRT 4 and 7, have been approved or are under construction. The largest funding
will be made in Manila, on the main island of Luzon, and in Mindanao, the
southernmost island group. The funds should assist the Philippines in recovering
from a recent stagnation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, offering a much-
needed short-term uplift to local employment. The government has established a
hybrid policy for financing, managing, and operating large-scale, complex
investments in order to ensure the construction of long-term, high-quality
infrastructure, particularly in the railway sector. The public infrastructure will
be funded by the government's national budget and development assistance. The
assets will then be operated and maintained by the private sector or through
public-private partnerships. Despite receiving the largest portion, the railway
sector still faced a funding gap of P191 billion for foreign-assisted projects, which
account for the majority of railways in the pipeline. The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) approved a loan of up to $4.3 billion for the southern leg of the Philippines'
massive North-South Commuter Railway project on June 9. The railway line will
be built in three segments over a total length of 147 kilometers. It will begin in
the north near Clark International Airport and run down through Manila's urban
core before reaching its southern terminus in Calamba. This comes after the ADB
approved a $2.75 billion loan for the northern segment, which is currently under
construction, in 2019.

The flagship North-South Commuter Railway in Manila, the government's

largest ever individual infrastructure investment, is one of its top priorities. The
NSCR is planned as a 163-route-kilometer suburban railway network connecting
the regional growth centers of Clark and New Clark City in the north with central
Manila and Calamba City in Laguna province in the south. The BBB rail
investment also includes improvements to Manila's urban rail routes, such as
the rehabilitation of the MRT3 metro line, the extension of light rail lines 1 and
2, the construction of new lines 4 and 7, and the planned MRT9, also known as
the Metro Manila Subway. The NSCR corridor will connect to all of these urban
routes, allowing for the operation of through services into the MRT9 Metro Manila
Subway. The construction of the NSCR has been divided into three stages. The
first is the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, which will see the development of a 53-
kilometer corridor north of the capital that will largely follow a moribund legacy
railway that has been idle for several decades. This project is divided into two
sections, the first of which is a 512 km stretch from Malolos, a suburb north of
Manila, to Clark and Clark International Airport in Pampanga province. The
second is a 19-kilometer connection to Manila's existing Blumentritt station,
where an interchange with the elevated LRT1 light rail line will be provided. The
second stage of the NSCR package covers the central core of 38 kilometers,
connecting Tutuban in Manila to Malolos City. The Japan International
Cooperation Agency is funding this segment, and construction began in 2019.
The 55-kilometer southern corridor connecting Blumentritt and Calamba City
would be the third phase.

Trains are slated to commence operating on the Malolos-Clark Railway in

2023, with the entire NSCR planned for completion by 2028. The first airport rail
shuttle in the Philippines will be a notable feature of NSCR. This Airport Express
service will cut the travel time between Clark International Airport in Pampanga
and Makati City, the capital's main business district, to less than an hour,
compared to at least two hours by car or taxi currently. Airport trains will have
reserved seating. As well along with the airport shuttle, two other quality of
service will be provided along NSCR: all-stations commuter trains and a semi-
fast service calling at selected stations with higher passenger demand.

Approximately all of these initiatives are supported by the ADB or JICA.

China's role is relatively minor in comparison to Japan's outside of the Makati
project, which is a local government intervention. This demonstrates the fact that
while China's Belt and Road Initiative often steals the headlines, Japan's
footprint when it comes to infrastructural development in the region may be less
noticeable but is often more significant. It's also worthy to note that major transit
improvements for Manila and its surrounding areas have been in the works for
decades. The government signed contracts with Chinese counterparts several
years ago to finance and build portions of the North-South Commuter Railway,
but the deal fell through. The thing that these projects have progressed and
resolve various political, legal, logistical, and financial roadblocks that have
stymied previous attempts helps to explain why Duterte has remained widely
popular with the Philippine electorate despite his well-documented shortcomings
and controversies. Where others failed, his administration delivered on major
infrastructure projects.

References:
https://www.adb.org/news/features/philippines-commuter-corridor-leads-rail-revival
https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/the-revival-of-rail-infrastructure-in-the-philippines/