PNR Metro Commuter Line

PNR Metro Commuter Line
A PNR 8000 class at Santa Mesa station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Government of the Philippines
Locale	Metro Manila
Termini	Tutuban Governor Pascual (MNC) IRRI (MSC)
Stations	36
Website	www.pnr.gov.ph
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	Philippine National Railways
Depot(s)	Tutuban Caloocan
Rolling stock	Refer to Rolling stock section below
Daily ridership	75,000 (2018)[1] 150,000 (maximum)[2]
History
Opened	November 24, 1892; 129 years ago (November 24, 1892) (track) April 6, 1970; 51 years ago (April 6, 1970) (service)
Closed	June 1991; 30 years ago (June 1991) (Bulacan and Pampanga sections)
Technical
Line length	75.7 km (47.0 mi)
Track length	107.2 km (66.6 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	At-grade
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	20–40 km/h (12–25 mph)
Signalling	Mitsui ABS[3]
Route map Legend Governor Pascual Malabon Caloocan Caloocan Caloocan Depot 10th Avenue 5th Avenue Caloocan Manila Estero de Sunog Apog Solis Tutuban Railyard & Tayuman Locomotive Shed Tutuban Blumentritt Laon Laan España 8 Estero de Valencia Santa Mesa Pasig River Estero de Pandacan Pandacan Estero de Pandacan Paco San Andres Vito Cruz Manila Makati Buendia Dela Rosa Pasay Road Estero de Tripa de Gallina EDSA 3 Estero de Tripa de Gallina Makati Taguig Nichols  MMS  FTI  MMS  Taguig Parañaque Bicutan Parañaque Muntinlupa Sucat Sucat River Mangangate River Alabang Bayanan Creek Poblacion River Muntinlupa Magdaong River Tunasan Muntinlupa   Tunasan River   San Pedro San Isidro River San Pedro San Pedro Carmona Carmona Pacita Main Gate San Pedro Biñan Golden City 1 Biñan Biñan River Biñan Santa Rosa Silang-Santa Rosa River Santa Rosa Santa Rosa Cabuyao Cabuyao River delta Cabuyao Gulod Cabuyao River delta Mamatid Banlic Cabuyao Calamba San Cristobal River San Juan River Calamba Pansol Masili Calamba Los Baños Dampalit Creek Los Baños Anos Creek College Molawin River IRRI This diagram: view talk

The PNR Metro Commuter Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Philippine National Railways. It was first inaugurated as the Metro Manila Commuter Service in 1970, and originally served the North Main Line and the South Main Lines, as well as the defunct Carmona and Guadalupe branch lines. Since then, it adopted several names such as Metrotrak^[4] and Metrotren,^[5] before adopting its present name in the late 2000s. The line is also nicknamed the Orange Line due to its designation in the 1970s.

The present line has 36 stations serving Metro Manila and Laguna. It is divided into two sections which meet in Tutuban station in Tondo, Manila. The Metro North Commuter section runs from Tutuban to Governor Pascual station in Malabon and is colored light green in the system map of PNR. On the other hand, the Metro South Commuter section which runs from Tutuban to IRRI station in Los Baños, Laguna and is colored orange. Some stations connect to LRT Lines 1 and 2, and MRT Line 3.

History[]

Manila Railroad local trains and Meralco Tranvias[]

The Manila Railroad Company, which preceded PNR, operated various local trains between Manila and its neighboring provinces. Trains from Tutuban will lead to Naic in Cavite, Pagsanjan in Laguna, Montalban in Rizal, and Bulacan during the 1920s.^[6]

The Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (Meralco) also operated electrified Tranvia services in what is now Metro Manila.^[7] The 100 km (62 mi) tram system reached Malabon to the north, Pasig to the east, and Libertad (now part of Pasay) to the south, making it one of the longest in Asia in 1924.^[8] Both systems were heavily damaged during the Battle of Manila in World War II.^[8]

PNR commuter services[]

Metro Manila Commuter Service (1970–89)[]

The Metro Manila Commuter Service started on April 6, 1970 which started at Manila North Harbor and ended in Biñan, Laguna. During this decade, more stations were opened although some were either closed or relocated. In 1976, the commuter system peaked and extended as far north as San Fernando, Pampanga,^[9] Guadalupe (located in Mandaluyong on the other side of Pasig River) to the east, and College to the south.^[10] There were also services in the now-defunct Carmona branch line.^[11]

Metrotrak then Metrotren (1989–2009)[]

In 1990, the system was undergoing renovations under the working title Metrotrak.^[4] By May of that year, the system was inaugurated as Metrotren to distinguish it from the LRT Line 1, then named "Metrorail".^[5] However, the Metrotren system eventually suffered neglect due to lack of funding and maintenance. Plans for expansion and rehabilitation such as the Manila–Clark rapid railway project and Guadalupe line revival was also never realized.^[12]

Post-Metrotren and Metro Commuter[]

The Arroyo administration attempted to modernize the PNR system by rebuilding the lines and purchasing new rolling stock. PNR purchased 6 brand new diesel multiple units from South Korea and became its first order in 35 years.^[13] The government was also interested in reviving the Manila to Malolos NorthRail project. However, the line stopped construction in 2011 and only pillars were built.^[14] The succeeding Aquino administration rebuilt the stations along the line to accommodate high-floor trains. PNR also acquired second-hand multiple units from Japan as stopgap measures to its train fleet, ending the Metrotren era.^[15] However, services were further suspended to Santa Rosa in 2014,^[16] and to Alabang in 2015 due to safety issues and accidents on the line.^[17] The North Main Line has also been closed.^[18]

The Duterte administration, Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and PNR General Manager Junn Magno, all promised to revive and modernize the PNR and its commuter line.^[19] In 2017, the Department of Science and Technology announced its first Filipino-designed train and started trial services between Alabang and Calamba in 2018.^[20]

For the present network, Magno announced the purchase of 3 diesel-hydraulic locomotives, 15 coaches, and 22 diesel-electric multiple units from Indonesian rolling stock manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api or INKA. The INKA trainsets and 5 of the Hyundai Rotem DMUs will comprise a 14-train fleet that will replace the aging PNR 900 class as well as the second-hand rolling stock acquired by the Aquino administration, as these trainsets will be transferred to the Bicol Region for the Bicol Commuter services after 2020.^[2] The present line will also be rebuilt during and after the construction of the North–South Commuter Railway as it will serve as an alternate transport mode to the NSCR.^[21] It will be eventually envisioned to revisit and reactivate once abandoned lines and stations in the north that was once operated by PNR.

Route[]

The existing operational Metro Commuter Line is predominantly aligned and shares the path of the South Main Line or SouthRail which uses a dedicated right of way of its own. It terminates at Calamba Station despite having rails further towards Legazpi, Albay, but few trains stop at Sta. Rosa and Calamba Stations further to the south. Inter-provincial services such as the Bicol Express and Mayon Limited are not running as of 2015, but plans to revive the services have been presented.

Legend

• Trains stop at stations marked "●".
• Trains pass those marked "｜".
• Only morning and evening trains stop at stations marked "◇".
• Morning and evening trains stopping only on Sundays at stations marked "X".
• Evening southbound trains only load at stations marked "♦".
• Morning and evening trains only unload at stations marked "♠".
• For AA-LA-IRRI, some trains stop at stations marked ∆, while all trains stop at stations marked ✓
•   closed stations
• MSC (TU-LA) — Metro South Commuter (Tutuban to Calamba)
• MSC (TU-IRRI) — Metro South Commuter (Tutuban to IRRI)
• MSC (AA-LA-IRRI) — Metro South Commuter (Alabang-Calamba- IRRI)
• MNC (TU-GP) — Metro North Commuter (Tutuban to Governor Pascual)
• MNC (GP-FTI) — Metro North Commuter (Governor Pascual to FTI)
• SS (TU-SU) — Shuttle Service (Tutuban to Sucat)
• SS (SA-SU) — Shuttle Service (Santa Mesa to Sucat)
• PT — Premiere Train

Name	Distance (km)			Services								Transfers	Location
	Between stations	From Tutuban	From Governor Pascual	Metro Commuter					Shuttle		PT
				MSC (TU-LA)	MSC (TU-IRRI)	MSC (AA-LA-IRRI)	MNC (TU-GP)	MNC (GP-FTI)	SS (TU-SU)	SS (SA-SU)
Valenzuela	—	—	—				—	—				none	Valenzuela City
Governor Pascual	1.300	6.400	0.000				●	●					Malabon
Caloocan	0.800	5.100	1.300				●	●					Caloocan
10th Avenue	1.460	4.300	2.100				●	●
5th Avenue	1.380	2.840	3.560				●	●
Solis	1.460	1.460	4.940				●	●					Manila
Tutuban	—	—	—	●	X		●	｜	●		●	LRT Line 2 Tutuban
Blumentritt	2.730	2.730	5.530	●				●	●		●	LRT Line 1 Blumentritt
Laon Laan	1.090	3.820	—	●				｜	●		｜	none
España	0.700	4.520	7.320	●				●	●		●
Santa Mesa	1.970	6.490	9.290	●				●	●	●	●	LRT Line 2 Pureza
Pandacan	1.470	7.960	—	●				｜	●	●	｜	none
Paco	1.500	9.460	12.200	●				●	●	●	｜
San Andres	0.960	10.420	—	●				｜	●	●	｜
Vito Cruz	0.600	11.020	—	●				｜	●	●	｜
Buendia	1.260	12.280	—	●				｜	●	●	●		Makati
Dela Rosa	0.120	12.400	15.320	●	♦			●	｜	｜	｜
Pasay Road	0.940	13.220	—	●	♠			｜	●	●	●
EDSA	1.080	14.300	17.150	●	♠			●	●	●	●	3 MRT Line 3 Magallanes
Nichols	3.600	17.900	—	●	♠			｜	●	●	｜	none	Taguig
FTI	0.700	18.600	21.400	●	♦			●	●	●	｜
Bicutan	2.300	20.900	—	●	♦				●	●	｜		Parañaque
Sucat	4.120	25.020	—	●	♦				●	●	●		Muntinlupa
Alabang	3.673	28.693	—	●	♦	∆					●
Muntinlupa	3.320	32.013	—	◇	◇	∆					｜
Tunasan	—	—	—	—	｜	｜
San Pedro	3.361	35.374	—	◇	◇	∆					●		San Pedro, Laguna
Pacita Main Gate	2.176	37.550	—	◇	◇	∆					｜
Golden City 1	1.170	38.720	—	◇	◇	∆					｜		Biñan, Laguna
Biñan	1.044	39.764	—	◇	◇	∆					●
Santa Rosa	4.042	43.806	—	◇	◇	∆					●		Santa Rosa, Laguna
	1.954	45.760	—	｜	｜	｜
Cabuyao	1.660	47.420	—	◇	◇	∆					｜		Cabuyao, Laguna
Mamatid	5.530	52.950	—	◇	◇	∆					●
Banlic	1.850	54.800	—	｜	｜	｜
Calamba	1.338	56.138	—	◇	◇	✓							Calamba, Laguna
Pansol	4.490	60.628	—		◇	✓
Masili	1.899	62.257	—		◇	✓
Los Baños	2.382	64.909	—		���	✓							Los Baños, Laguna
College	2.172	67.081	—		◇	✓
IRRI	2.253	69.334	—		◇	✓
Stations in italics are either under construction, not yet operational, or have been closed.

Rolling stock[]

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The Metro Commuter Line has always used diesel-powered rolling stock since the services were opened in 1970. In 1976, PNR was able to expand its commuter and regional services when it bought 60 CMC railcars which remained in service until 2004.^[22] These commuter trainsets however deteriorated in the 1990s and ordered second-hand 12 series coaches in their stead. The 12 series cars were hauled by PNR's diesel locomotives which were previously used in its intercity and freight services. There were no new orders until 2009 when PNR ordered the Hyundai Rotem DMUs, followed by second-hand multiple units and coaches from Japan.

PNR later ordered 2 new trains from Indonesian manufacturer PT INKA on January 22, 2018,^[23] followed by an order of 7 more trains on May 28, increasing the total trains ordered to 9.^[2] The DOST Hybrid Electric Train also entered trial service the same year.^[20] The agency then commenced the refurbishment of its entire fleet the following year, which introduced polycarbonate windows that can resist stoning as well as a new livery. After all the INKA trainsets have arrived and the refurbishment of older trains are completed, the Hyundai Rotem DMUs and the INKA trainsets will become the Metro Commuter fleet while the older Japanese trainsets will be transferred to the Bicol Region for its new commuter service unless PNR decides otherwise.^[2]

Locomotives: DEL: Diesel-electric DHL: Diesel-hydraulic

Railroad cars: C: Coach HEP: Head end power car S: Sleeping car

Multiple units: BEMU: Battery electric multiple unit DMU: Diesel multiple unit

Active rolling stock[]

Locomotives
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Active units	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
900		DEL	64	103	5	1973–91	Originally a class of 21 units, with 2 awaiting service.[24]
							DEL 917 adopted a new orange livery to follow suit with the upcoming CC300 (9000 class) locomotives.[24]
2500		DEL			1	1965–79	Originally a class of 43 locomotives. 1 unit repainted in orange in late 2020.[25]
9000		DHL	75	120	3	2019–20	It is planned to replace the PNR 900 class after 2020.[2]

Coaches
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Active units	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
203 series		HEP	60	100	20	1982–86	Former JR East electric multiple units acquired in 2011 and replaced the 12 series coaches decommissioned in 2011.[24] 20 out of 40 units in active service.
		C
8300		C	75	120	15	2019–20	Planned to replace some of the 203 series EMU.[2]

Multiple Units
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Active units	Cars per set	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
KiHa 350		DMU	70	110	1 Set[26]	2	1962–66	Former Kantō Railway rolling stock acquired in 2015.[27][circular reference] 1 unit is currently assigned at Bicol Commuter service as of April 2021.[26]
KoGaNe		DMU			3	3	1967–68; 1989	Former JR East rolling stock acquired in 2012. Refurbished in 2019.[28] KoGaNe was last seen conducting a trial run on 12th of May, 2021.[29]
KiHa 52		DMU	59[30]	95[30]	1	1-3	1963–66	1 unit being used on MNC Trips.[24]
Hyundai Rotem		DMU	50	80	6[31]	3	2009	As of May 13, 2021, two sets of Hyundai Rotem DMU (Sets 05 and 06) are active at the Metro North Commuter Line.[31]
HET		Hybrid DMU/BEMU			5	5	2014-15	First train to be made by Filipinos after several decades. Currently on storage, testing and occasional finetuning and test runs, turned over to PNR in 2019[32]
8000		DMU	60	100	6	3	2018–19	These units are equipped with the same horns used by older rolling stock, distinguishing it from the 8100 class.
8100					12	4	2019–20	Three sets of 8100 Class DMUs were fitted with Rotem horns.[33][34]

Former rolling stock[]

Locomotives
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Units	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
5000		DEL	64	103	10	1960; 1992	Six units are stored at Caloocan Workshops.[24] DEL 5007 was repainted in orange in 2020 and was last seen active at the Bicol Commuter Line from January 2021.[35] From April 2021, DEL 5009 was spotted hauling KiHa 350 Set 3 while serving the Bicol Commuter Line.[26]

Coaches
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Units	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
7A/12 (ja)		C	60	100	30	1970–77	Acquired 1999 to replace some of the CMC fleet. Decommissioned by 2012 after the 203 series-derived coaches have replaced them.

Multiple Units
Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Units	Cars per set	Built	Remarks
			mph	km/h
Nikkō		DMU			26	2-3	c. 1974	Initially arranged in two-car trainsets, the class served commuter trains in the 1970s.[36] Transferred to Peñafrancia Express intercity services between Manila and Naga.[37] Has since been decommissioned in 2004.[24]
CMC			59	95	60	2–10	1976	Last units were retired in 2004 with some units transferred to PNR's maintenance equipment. Most of them have been scrapped in 2009.[24]
KiHa 52			59[30]	95[30]	7	2–3	1963–66	3 Units are Parked in Caloocan Workshops with 1 unit refurbished as a rescue train[38] while the remaining 3 is Transferred to Bicol Commuter services. with 1 Unit used as a Source of Spare Parts[24]

Services[]

Current[]

Metro South Commuter[]

The Metro South Commuter (also known as MSC) is the main and only train service currently being offered by PNR that run along the Metro Commuter Line. The trains that are currently being used for this service are the 900 Series Locomotives, PNR 2500 Series Locomotives, 203 series ex-Joban Line Local EMUs donated by JR East, the South Korean Hyundai Rotem DMUs, the PT INKA 8000 class DMUs, INKA 8100 class DMUs, and the INKA CC300 locomotives and 8300 class coaches. The 8000 class DMUs occasionally perform MSC trips when the Hyundai Rotem DMUs occupy the Metro North Commuter trips. The trips are reduced upon announcements. On December 2, 2014, the new Calamba Station was inaugurated. Later that night, the MSC1907 was extended up to the said station. The MSC1937 was also extended, but only up to Sta. Rosa Station. As of July 2015, MSC services run between Tutuban and Alabang.^[39] As of September 2019, the trips (morning and night) now reaches Calamba while the other service to Mamatid is dropped making the MSC1907 the only train servicing Laguna.

Governor Pascual-FTI service (Metro North Commuter)[]

On August 1, 2018, Philippine National Railways reinstated commuter train services to Caloocan station, as preparation for the Tutuban-Malolos railway, the first section of the railway line that will end at Clark in Pampanga. The line was reopened after the line was repaired due to water intrusion. According to claims by the Department of Transportation, it will be the most efficient way of travel between Caloocan and Makati. Services will continue operating until the completion of the Tutuban-Malolos Railway, after which the line will be mostly dedicated to cargo hauling.^[40] Originally running from 10th Avenue to Dela Rosa, it was upgraded into the Caloocan-FTI shuttle service on September 10 (officially called the Sangangdaan-FTI shuttle service). On December 3, 2018, it was again extended to Acacia/Governor Pascual station, with plans to extend the service up to Valenzuela railway station, and poised to carry 120,000 passengers daily if completed.^[21]

The trains used in this service are the INKA 8000 class DMUs and Hyundai Rotem DMUs.

IRRI services (Metro South Commuter)[]

Tutuban/Dela Rosa-IRRI[]

On December 1, 2019, Train services to the International Rice Research Institute inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños were started. Five new stations were added to the route: Pansol and Masili in Calamba Laguna, and Los Baños, College and IRRI in the neighboring town of Los Baños.^[41]

The service uses the Kogane train set previously used for Premiere Train Services. The service originates from Tutuban exclusively on Sundays, while it starts from Dela Rosa from Monday-Saturday. The train only loads a limited number of passengers in Dela Rosa, FTI, Bicutan, Sucat and Alabang Stations when going southbound, but unloading in stations in between like Nichols and EDSA are allowed.^[42]

Alabang-Calamba-IRRI[]

On December 16, 2019, Regular Commuter services between Alabang, Calamba and IRRI were launched. The service uses Kiha-350 DMUs and runs the full route thrice daily from both endpoints and twice from the Calamba-IRRI segment.^[43]

Past[]

Prior to the establishment of the PNR Metro Commuter Line, the Manila Railroad had several local train services in the 1950s and 1960s. According to a timetable that was effected on August 16, 1954, local trains on the South Main Line from Manila reached Lucena station in Quezon province.^[44] In the 1960s, local trains also reached San Fernando, Pampanga on the North Main Line. Services on the South Main Line were also added in the province of Laguna, and reached San Pablo and Santa Cruz, Laguna.^[45]

Caloocan–Meycauayan section[]

After the intercity section of the North Main Line was closed in the 1980s, then-president Corazon Aquino inaugurated the resumption of commuter rail services to Meycauayan in Bulacan on May 10, 1990. It was part of the Metrotren program initiated by then-Department of Transportations and Communications secretary Oscar Orbos to revitalize Metro Manila's public transport infrastructure due to worsening car traffic in the metropolis.^[46] The line was closed in the midst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.^[47] There were plans to revitalize the entire line and extend it to Clark International Airport under the Northrail project.^[12]

A section of the line was opened in 2018 from Solis to Governor Pascual. This section eventually became the PNR Metro North Commuter. The network shall extend again to Valenzuela City once a bridge crossing the Tullahan River has been constructed. However, the North–South Commuter Railway will serve as the primary commuter rail service to Bulacan and neighboring Pampanga, with the PNR Metro North Commuter allotted as an alternative to the NSCR.^[48]

Carmona Line[]

A spur line towards Carmona was opened on April 1, 1973 to serve the residents of the San Pedro–Carmona Resettlement Project. On September 11, 1976, two Rail Commuter services were designated on the line and were named after indigenous flora. The service from Carmona to Manila was called Ilang-Ilang while the returning service was called Sampaguita.^[49] The Carmona services ended by early 2005.^[50] The closure coincided with court cases filed in 1996 against the Philippine National Railways by private corporations that owned some of the right-of-way and was ruled out in 2008, as PNR continued to own the tracks.^[51] Parts of the line remain intact, and plans to reopen the line are underway.^[52]

Shuttle Service[]

The Shuttle Service was introduced on January 27, 2014. This service uses Hyundai Rotem DMUs and JR KiHa 52. There are 4 routes of the Shuttle Service, where trains stop at all stations along the routes.

1. Tutuban – Sucat
2. Sucat – Tutuban
3. Sta. Mesa – Sucat
4. Sucat – Sta. Mesa

This train service was removed last May 23, 2014 to give way to maintenance servicing of the rolling stock. Another reason was the 3 consecutive weeks of delays and cancellations of some train trips. The service officially returned to the line on August 1, 2018, this time, to serve from the 10th Avenue railway station up to the Dela Rosa station using a JR KiHa 350 DMU. An additional service was opened on September 10 and operated from the reopened Caloocan station to FTI station. It is now the PNR Metro North Commuter.

Premiere Train[]

The Premiere Train was a special MSC service that operates from Monday to Friday, except holidays. The train being used in this special service was the KiHa 59 "Kogane" train set, which is also from Japan. The train used to stop at selected stations only, namely Tutuban, Blumentritt, España, Sta. Mesa, Buendia, Pasay Road, EDSA (flagstop), Sucat, Alabang, San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, and Mamatid. The service had 4 trips: MSC501, MSC702, MSC1555, and MSC1802.

The service was suspended on December 2014 due to the inauguration of the station building of Calamba due to the repairs of the trainset being used for this service.

Expansion and reconstruction plans[]

North–South Commuter Railway[]

The North–South Commuter Railway will be a train line connecting the northern and southern boundaries of Mega Manila. Once fully operational by 2025, it will connect New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac to the north and Calamba, Laguna to the south.^[53][54] The line will initially have 34 stations, expandable to 41 by 2030, and expand northward to Tarlac City and southward to Batangas City by 2040. The line will have commuter rail services as well as an airport limited express service connecting Clark International Airport with Alabang station.^[55]

It will be a double-track line with direct current electrification through overhead lines. The line will also be built in the wider standard gauge compared to the 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge being used by PNR.^[56] The NSCR North which will be between Tutuban and New Clark City will be fully elevated and will have both embankment and viaduct sections. while the NSCR South will feature a mix of elevated sections through viaducts, as well as an at-grade and underground section between EDSA and FTI stations. The maximum speed on the line will be up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) for commuter trains and 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph) for the airport express trains.^[55] The project costs ₱777.5 billion (US$15 billion) and is one of the flagship projects of the Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure Plan.

In July 2019, PNR ordered 104 EM10000 class train cars from the Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-TREC) along with Sumitomo Corporation, which will be arranged into 8-car electric multiple units.^[57] This is the first order out of a total of 464 EMU cars. An additional order of 360 EMU cars with 304 cars allotted for commuter use and 56 cars for the airport express train are being procured as of 2022.^[58]

On November 16, 2021, PNR published the bidding documents for the relocation of its present tracks while the NSCR South is being constructed. This will ensure that the Metro Commuter services will remain business as usual. While the line shall be upgraded from the present 35-kilogram (77 lb) and 50-kilogram (110 lb) rails to the UIC60 standard, it will be reduced from double-track to single-track with passing sidings as the NSCR will become the primary passenger rail corridor up to Calamba station. 13 new bridges will be constructed and the line will remain using the existing narrow-gauge track, though allowances for future conversion to standard-gauge and reintroduction of double-tracking have already been incorporated into the designs. The upgrades is expected to increase the maximum design speed to 80 km/h (50 mph).^[59]

Metro North Commuter restoration[]

Metro North Commuter services have been restored in 2018, and there are plans to further extend the line north to Valenzuela station from its present terminus in Governor Pascual station in neighboring Malabon. A new bridge crossing the Tullahan River will also be built to connect the two stations. The expansion aims to reduce traffic congestion between Valenzuela and Makati. Although these services are planned to be superseded by the North–South Commuter Railway, the present line will continue serving passenger trains and will also serve freight trains in the future.^[21]

Integration with intercity services[]

The intercity section of the PNR South Main Line will be rebuilt under the PNR South Long Haul project. A new 639 km (397 mi) line will connect Metro Manila with the Bicol Region.^[60] The entire section will also be built in standard gauge, similar to the NSCR but there will be no electrification. The line will also traverse the present Metro Commuter Line, initially from Calamba station by Phase 1, Sucat station by Phase 4, and eventually to Tutuban station.^[61] Since the intercity services will traverse the narrow-gauge line, there will be a dual gauge network between these stations and IRRI station.

Incidents and accidents[]

The PNR Metro Commuter Line has been prone to numerous incidents, including stoning incidents,^[62] people being ran over by trains (including even fatal ones),^[63] and trains colliding with vehicles.^[64]

• On May 19, 2014, a cigarette vendor died while six others were hurt when a PNR train from Tutuban Station collided with a jeepney across the railroad tracks along G. Tuazon Street in Sampaloc, Manila at around 4:30 p.m. The jeepney was dragged around 50 meters (160 ft) from the site of the collision. The driver of the jeepney was allegedly drunk when the collision happened.^[64]
• On April 29, 2015, a Hyundai Rotem DMU derailed between EDSA railway station and Nichols railway station. There were 80 reported injuries, mostly minor cases.^[65][66] The incident was caused by missing parts of the railtracks that were stolen.^[67] This, however, prompted PNR operations to be suspended on May 5, 2015, to conduct safety tests by PNR and TÜV Rheinland.^[68] The operations of the PNR resumed on July 23, 2015.^[17]
• On January 12, 2016, a PNR Metro South Commuter Line train from Alabang collided with a jeepney at the Pedro Gil Street crossing near Paco station in Paco, Manila. One person died from head injuries and six were injured.^[69][70]
• On July 7, 2017, five people, including a pregnant woman, was hurt when an ambulance was hit by a train (a PNR 900 class locomotive and a 203 series EMU) near Blumentritt Station in Manila. The ambulance, which came from Barangay 167 Ilano in Caloocan, was on its way to a hospital to bring the pregnant woman when the accident occurred.^[71]
• On January 14, 2018, a passenger in a 203 series trainset forced a train door open while the train was moving.^[72][73]
• On October 11, 2019, an old woman got run over by a train, causing injuries to her hands and legs.^[74]
• Fourteen stoning incidents were reported from December 2 to 21, 2019, including a stoning incident in one 8000 class train.^[62]
• On December 28, 2019, an 8000 class was obstructed between España and Sta. Mesa stations.^[75][76]
• On January 1, 2020, a windshield of a Hyundai Rotem DMU was shattered due to a stoning incident while performing an MNC Trip at Caloocan.^[77] The glass window was replaced with polycarbonate the day after the incident. It was also found that a group of minors were the ones who did the crime.^[78]
• In February 2020, a window in a KiHa 59 series (Kogane) trainset shattered due to a stoning incident.^[79]
• On February 16, 2020, a 203 series trainset was involved in a stone-throwing incident. It damaged a door window and injured one passenger.^[79]
• On June 3, 2020, a Hyundai Rotem DMU rammed a car at Abad Santos Railroad Crossing in Tondo, Manila. The crossing barrier was not down when the accident happened. The train dragged the car for about 10 meters.^[80]
• On August 28, 2020, an engineer got run over by an 8100 class train near Paco station. The engineer died after the incident.^[81]
• On August 22, 2021, three teenagers died after they got run over by a train in Santa Mesa, Manila.^[63]
• On September 2, 2021, a Hyundai Rotem DMU train rammed a blue car at the Piy Margal Railroad Crossing in Manila despite early warning by the crossing keepers. No injuries were reported. The PNR management is yet to release a statement about the absence of barriers at the railroad crossing,^[82] particularly at the southbound lane.

References[]

External links[]

• The PNR Metro Commuter Line – Timetables

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