By Gilbert P. Felongco MALOLOS CITY – Spanish colonial-era structures connecting the old train stations in Bulacan will be restored as part of the ongoing construction of the North-South Commuter Railway Project (NSCRP), officials said. Workers erect scaffoldings on the more than a century old Malolos Railway Station as part of efforts to rehabilitate and improve the railway line linking Central Luzon to Metro Manila and south of the capital. (Gilbert Felongco / MANILA BULLETIN) Aside from improving travel time and riding comfort throughout the train journey, commuters will be given added treat when they revel at the heritage structures that, at one point played an important role in the railway’s 128 year history. Among the structures that will undergo restoration will be the Spanish-era station in Malolos which was constructed from bricks, as well as the several other train stops in Bulacan such as in Guiguinto, Balagtas Marilao and Meycauayan. According to Jason Patrick Torres of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd. (SMCC), rehabilitation works for the old railway station structures are ongoing with scaffoldings already being put up at the old Malolos train station in prelude for the actual civil works. The Japanese firm is the Japanese contractor for the 38 kilometer Tutuban-Malolos juncture of project. Torres said that while the heritage train stops would be put up just alongside the modern railway stations, they will be careful not to cause any damage on the old historic structures, In the case of the Malolos station, the modern train station that would be put up will be three storey structure compared to the single-level building that had been in use for decades. The Tutuban-Malolos railway juncture comprises the first phase of the northern route phase of the (NSCRP) P777.5-billion project under the current administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the Tutuban-Malolos line is envisioned to be completed during the term of President Duterte. The ground breaking rites for the line’s second phase was conducted last year. This will be the 53-kilometer line from Malolos to Clark in Pampanga. The last time that the Tutuban to Malolos commuter route was used was in the early 1990s.