DOTR to finish 16k housing units for families affected by North-South railway by Q4 2026

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Monday assured that it is expediting the completion of 16,575 housing units for families affected by the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System by the end of 2026.

“Kabilin-bilinan ng Pangulo dapat madliin na ang mga housing units para matirhan na agad ito ng mga kababayan nating apektado ng NSCR. Nakikipagtulungan tayo sa mga ahensyang responsable para sa housing units para matapos agad ito,” Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said in a statement.

(The President told us to expedite the construction of the housing units so that our countrymen affected by the NSCR can immediately move in. We are working with agencies responsible for the housing units to ensure its completion.)

In the NSCR’s south segment, the DOTr is working with the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to provide in-city and near-city housing units in the cities of San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Calamba in Laguna and in Naic, Cavite.

These include Sining Residence II with 1,920 units, Sining Residence I with 528 units, The Meadows with 2,030 units, Rizal Ville with 2,130 units, and Naic in Cavite with 5,452 units.

In the north segment, the DOTr is cooperating with the National Housing Authority (NHA) on three relocation sites in Pampanga and one in Bulacan.

There are 4,515 informal settler families to be relocated in Angeles City and City of San Fernando in Pampanga and Calumpit in Bulacan.

IC Calaguas, Transportation Assistant Secretary for Right of Way and Site Acquisition (ROWSA) and SHFC engineer Renalyn Nacpil recently inspected the ongoing constructions.

Expected to be completed by 2032, the 147-kilometer NSCR System will stretch from the Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga to the City of Calamba in Laguna.

This will reduce travel time from CRK to Calamba to less than 2.5 hours from the current four hours via land travel.

The NSCR System will feature the country’s first Airport Express Service, which will connect CRK to Makati in less than an hour and will connect CRK to Alabang in less than an hour and 15 minutes.

It will also have the country’s first Through Train Interoperations with the Metro Manila Subway.

The 35-station rail system is expected to generate 350,000 jobs during construction and operations, while serving almost one million passengers daily at full operations. — JMA, GMA Integrated News