This Is What the Japan-Built Train Stations in the Philippines Could Look Like

The Philippines will soon have a railway system it could be truly proud of. Officially called the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the 147-kilometer rail transit system is one of the Philippines’ big-ticket projects that Japan will partly build.

Japan’s Hitachi Rail, one of the major contractors for the project, won the contract for the electrical and mechanical systems in November 2022. Hitachi’s contract covers roughly 35.4 kilometers and nine stations on the NSCR, part of the 147-kilometer commuter line from Calamba to Clark, and will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The railway system will run from New Clark City in Capas to Calamba, Laguna and will be composed of 36 stations. The railway system will have 58 trains with eight cars each. A joint venture between Japan's Sumitomo Corporation and Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-TREC) will supply 304 train cars for the project. As for the speed, regular trains will run at 140 kilometers per hour, while airport trains will run at 160 kilometers per hour—quite fast and unprecedented in Philippine train or railway standards. 

The project’s first phase will connect Malolos, Bulacan with the Tutuban Station in Manila. 

The $814-million (P44.8-billion) project will be financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

The photo below shows what the Guiguinto, Bulacan station could look like once Hitachi finishes the project in the following years.

Photo by Hitachi Rail.