DOTr, J-Trec-Sumitomo sign PNR Tutuban-Malolos trains contract

CLARK CITY, Pampanga — The Department of Transportation and the joint venture of Japan Transport Engineering Co. and Sumitomo Corp. on Tuesday signed a P12.1-billion supply contract covering the trains for the Philippine National Railways Tutuban-Malolos project.

The project is the initial phase of the Metro Manila–Clark railway system, and will run from Tutuban station in Manila to Malolos City in Bulacan.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the DOTr and J-Trec-Sumitomo joint venture will work closely to have the first delivery of trains in the third quarter of 2021.

J-Trec-Sumitomo will manufacture and deliver a rolling stock fleet of 13 train sets—eight cars per set— for a total of 104 cars.

The rolling stock is designed to accommodate up to 2,242 passengers, Tugade noted.

The PNR Clark Phase 1 (Tutuban-Malolos) broke ground on February 15, 2019. The 37.6-kilometer, elevated mass railway system will connect Malolos to Manila.

The Tutuban-Malolos project entails 10 stations:

• Tutuban
• Solis
• Caloocan
• Valenzuela
• Meycauayan
• Marilao
• Bocaue
• Balagtas
• Guiginto
• Malolos

Transportation Undersecretary for Rails Timothy John Batan said the contract with J-Trec-Sumitomo is valued at P12.1 billion.

The trains can run up to 120 kilometers per hour, and reduce the travel time between Manila and Bulacan from over one hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes once the system is fully operational by 2022.

Tugade said the DOTr is targeting partial operations—covering Valenzuela all the way to Malolos—by end-2021.

The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency under a ¥241.991-billion or P93.457-billion loan agreement signed in November 2015.

The PNR Tutuban-Malolos line will be integrated with the PNR Malolos-Clark project and the PNR South Commuter—Manila to Calamba, Laguna project—to form an integrated commuter railway system that will serve commuters travelling to, from, and within NCR, Region III, and Region IV-A.

The full interoperability of the entire PNR North-South Commuter Railway is expected to happen in 2023. —VDS, GMA News