CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- A total of 56 rolling stocks for the seven express trains of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System are set to be assembled.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) formally awarded the contract to Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles of Spain.
Under Contract Package NS-03, the joint venture of Mitsubishi Corporation and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles calls for the connection of eight rolling stocks to come up with one train set.
The contract, worth about P8.7 billion,bwill be paid by the Philippine government with assistance from the Official Development Assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
DOTr said the express trains will run and operate during off-peak hours using the NSCR elevated railway tracks from Clark International Airport, passing through Buendia, Makati and reaching Alabang in Muntinlupa City.
The express trains, with speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, will have no stop-overs in stations located along the entire 147-kilometer length of the NSCR, the DOTr said.
The agency added that the express trains will be joined by 304 rolling stocks equivalent to 38 commuter train sets in the two-way rail system of the NSCR, which will stop in each station in runs from Clark International Airport up to Calamba City in Laguna province.
About 40.26 percent of NSCR Phase 2 or the Malolos-Clark Railways Project from Clark International Airport to Malolos City have been completed.
The progress rate of NSCR Phase 1 or the 38-kilometer track from Malolos City to Tutuban in Maynila is more than 60 percent.
DOTr said some P874 billion has been used so far for the NSCR system.