Government 'may use' NLEx for Clark-Manila railway

CLARK FREEPORT – PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan recently said the government may align the proposed Clark-Manila dedicated railway system to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).

“Of course the government can use the NLEx,” Pangilinan said, adding that the state still owns the freeway.

However, Pangilinan said the railway track should be erected at the lateral portions and not in the middle of the expressway.

Additional costs and delay to the construction will arise if it crosses directly with the existing vehicular and pedestrian overpasses across the entire length of NLEx, said Pangilinan, who is chairman of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, developer of NLEx and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

But Pangilinan said the dedicated train from Clark to Metro Manila will only have minimal and limited stops – near SM City North Edsa, Dimasalang, and Buendia.

If the project is realized, Pangilinan said it can bring passengers from Manila to Clark in less than an hour.

But he stressed that the people in Central Luzon also need a mass transport system like the NorthRail project, which was stopped due to several problems during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Pangilinan said the railways will cross several towns in Bulacan and Pampanga and would provide cheap transportation for people in Central Luzon.

He added the city will be decongested if there is an efficient railway system.