MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be halting operations for the next five years starting Maundy Thursday, March 28, 2024 to give way to the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

The last trips from Governor Pascual to Tutuban and Tutuban to Alabang will be on March 27. The closure is expected to affect around 30,000 commuters in Metro Manila who ride the trains every day. (Editor’s note: The initial version of this story misreported that the number of commuters affected daily is 300,000.)

In the meantime, buses on the Tutuban-Alabang route and vice versa will be expected to drop off and pick up passengers along the current PNR route.

Southbound buses will pass through the following areas:

• Divisoria (Tutuban)
• Mayhaligue Street
• Abad Santos Avenue
• Recto Avenue
• Legarda Street
• Quirino Avenue
• Nagtahan Flyover
• Mabini Bridge
• Quirino Avenue
• Osmeña Highway
• Nichols Entry
• SLEX
• Bicutan Exit
• Bicutan Entry
• Alabang (Starmall)

Meanwhile, northbound buses will pass through the following areas:

• Alabang (Starmall)
• Manila South Road
• East Service Road
• Alabang (Entry)
• SLEX, Bicutan Exit
• Bicutan Entry
• Nichols Exit
• Osmeña Highway
• Quirino Avenue
• Legarda Street
• Recto Avenue
• Abad Santos Avenue
• Mayhaligue Street
• Divisoria (Tutuban)

Here are the proposed bus stops for southbound and northbound buses near PNR stations, along with the trip schedules, according to the Department of Transportation:

Jeremy Regino, the current rails undersecretary who was the then-PNR general manager, previously told Rappler that the PNR’s Metro Manila trains will be transferred to its southern operations. (READ: PNR to stop operations in NCR by January 2024, resume trips to South Luzon)

“The loss of Metro Manila actually will be the gain of the Southern Luzon and Bicol area,” Regino told Rappler last October 2023. “Slowly, we are fixing the south.”

According to the Department of Transportation, halting the PNR will speed up the construction of the NSCR by 8 months, saving P15.18 billion in costs. The NSCR will be built along the same alignment used by the PNR in Metro Manila.

Once completed, the NSCR will run from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna. The mega railway project is expected to accommodate up to 800,000 passengers per day. – Rappler.com