Partial operability of a segment of the Philippine National Railway's (PNR) Bicol project is being eyed to begin by April next year, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade announced on Monday, Sept. 27.
"Target ko pong maging operational ito by April next year. Totoo po ito. Gusto ko pa sanang mas mapabilis (Our target is for the PNR Bicol project to be operational by April next year. This is true. I hope it could be earlier)," Tugade said during the virtual Pandesal Forum hosted by Kamuning Bakery Cafe.
Tugade shared he inspected over the weekend the Lucena Station in Quezon Province—one of the 35 stations of the PNR South Long-Haul Project or the PNR Bicol.
According to Tugade, the 560-kilometer long-haul rail line aims to connect Metro Manila to provinces in the Southern Luzon region.
The DOTr earlier said it aims to start partial operations of the Lucena, San Pablo, Candelaria, and Pagbilao segments between the first and second quarters of next year.
"Napakaganda para sa mga taga-Bicol region na magkakaroon ng access. Yung mga tren na iyon ay may business class (It is great for the people of the Bicol region to have access. Those trains also have business class)," he said.
The PNR Bicol railway line will run from Sucat, Parañaque in Metro Manila to Matnog in Sorsogon, and from Calamba to Batangas.
Once operational, the rail line is expected to reduce travel time between Manila and Legazpi from 14 to 18 hours to just six hours with regular commuter trains and 4.5 hours with express trains.
The Department earlier said that around 20,000 jobs were generated during the construction phase of the rail project and expected to bring 10,000 more local works once operational.
Aside from the PNR Lucena Station, Tugade also recently inaugurated the completed development projects in the Port of Lucena that has been expanded with an additional pier to accommodate heavier Ro-Ro traffic.
Tugade said the Department's port and rail projects in Lucena are seen to unlock the economic potential of Quezon Province that will help the local government especially in this time of pandemic.