The Philippine National Railways (PNR) will be temporarily shut down later this year, perhaps by the summer.
This was confirmed by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Railway Cesar Chavez during a public hearing of the House Committee on Transportation on Thursday, Feb. 16.
Antipolo 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop chairs the committee, which organized the hearing in order to get an update on all of the DOTr's ongoing railway projects.
Chavez said the planned closure of the PNR will allow for the faster construction of the South Commuter Railway Project.
According the DOTr official, the continued operation of the PNR has actually been delaying the South Commuter Railway Project.
“Kailangang ihinto ang operasyon ng PNR sapagkat gusto nating matapos ang proyektong ito (We need to stop the operations of PNR because we want to finish this project)," Chavez said.
"To contextualize, we need to stop the operation of PNR because our objective is to construct the South Commuter Railway in sustainable focus and speed based on the timeline and at a minimal cost," he noted.
He said that, based on a study, shutting down PNR would save the government P15 billion in the construction efforts. This is because there would no longer be a need to relocated the needed utilities electricity and water, he said.
At any rate, Chavez said the riding public will be informed in advance about when the train line will be closed.
"In due time we will inform the public ...sa operasyon nito sa loob ng taong ito at baka ho ngayong summer ho (about its operation within this year, maybe this coming summer)," he told the House panel.