MANILA – Once investment-approved railway projects are completed in the 2030s, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects more than a threefold increase in the total length of the railway and almost a fivefold increase in daily train ridership.
During the Philippine Railway Conference (PhilRailCon) 2024 in Mandaluyong City on Monday, DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette Aquino said the country’s existing railway lines total about 270.16 kilometers and are expected to increase by 356.43 percent to 1, 233 kilometers through the completion of investment-approved railway projects.
These projects include the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the Metro Manila Subway, and several other big-ticket rail projects.
These projects, she said, would result in an increase of 486.29 percent in daily train ridership, from 938, 318 today to 4, 860,196 by the 2030s.
The railway stations will also increase from 85 to 216 and train cars from 290 to 1, 391.
During the event, DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said funding for rail projects has been increasing substantially since the previous administration and has reached PhP 616.26 billion in 2024.
The DOTr’s total railway budget was PhP 57.98 billion in 2021, PhP 102.47 billion in 2022, and increasing substantially to PhP 419.82 billion in 2023.
Funding for these projects, Batan said, was made possible through partnerships with several international partners such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Institute of Finance, the World Bank Group, as well as several foreign governments such as Japan, China, South Korea, and Australia.
Events such as the PhilRailCon, he said, are market engagement activities that allow the DOTr to engage the private sector to give information on upcoming infrastructure projects and to allow for proper project planning.
“We’re hoping that we’re also able to share some inputs not only on what projects are coming up but also when those projects are hitting the market so that the market participants can plan accordingly,” he added. (PNA)