The Clark Depot of the North-South Commuter Railway is 81 percent complete as of Aug. 12, 2024, the Department of Transportation said. The depot will serve as the parking area of train sets and will house maintenance facilities and the management system of the NSCR. Lady Vicencio, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA - The Department of Transportation said it is already looking to privatize the operations and maintenance of the Metro Manila Subway and the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) as construction moves forward for the flagship projects. 

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the Clark Deport of the North-South Commuter Railway extension is 81 percent complete. Partial operations, which will open the route from Clark to Valenzuela, is expected to commence by the fourth quarter of 2027.

READ: DOTr: Metro Manila Subway Project about 15% complete

The depot, located in Mabalacat, Pampanga will serve as the parking area of train sets that will ply the Malolos-Calamba route of the NSCR. Bautista said the government is looking to pass the operations and maintenance of the subway and the NSCR the private sector.

“Itong NSCR and Metro Manila Subway, we’re now preparing for the operations and maintenance by the private sector as early as now. We also want them to give us their recommendations, their inputs on how we can operate these lines effectively and efficiently,” Bautista said.

The LRT-1 is already privately managed and maintained by a subsidiary of the Manny Pangilinan-led Metro pacific Investments Corp, while the MRT-7, which is still being built, is set to be operated by San Miguel Corp.

Construction of the NSCR depot's 33 stabling tracks is underway with drainage systems for rainwater collection all set, the DOTr said. The depot will also house the Workshop building for heavy maintenance activities of train sets, Light Repair Shop for daily maintenance works, and the Operations Control Center responsible for management operations of the entire line.

“Ang dream natin ‘yong train system natin will be operational similar to the train systems in Japan and other developed countries,” Bautista said.

The NSCR is planned to be interconnected with existing railways - Light Rail Transit 2, Metro Rail Transit 3.

“In the future, we’ll make it a point that the passengers from the MRT can go to the stations of LRT. Isa ‘yan sa pinag-aaralan kaya we want to privatize the operations and maintenance of MRT 3,” Bautista said.

The DOTr sees 10,000 jobs will be generated by the NSCR. A training center, equipped with a train simulator, is also being built in the depot for training purposes of incoming train staff. The P16.5 billion depot, funded through loan agreements with Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank, conforms to global standards according to Bautista.