Manila: The government of President Rodrigo Duterte is reviving a rail project to connect northern Metro Manila to Central Luzon — an endeavour that had been shelved in the past due to cost overruns and alleged corruption.

According to Secretary Arthur Tugade of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the 106-kilometre Manila to Clark Railway Project will finally be completed under the current administration.

“For the first time, a rail project will connect Manila to Central Luzon and it will be completed under the Duterte administration,” he said.

The plan calls for a high-speed rail connection linking Manila with the Central Luzon provinces of Bulacan with Pampanga.

The rail project envisions cutting by more than half the two-hour travel time from Manila to Clark to just 55 minutes.

Tugade said the rail system stands to benefit 350,000 passengers daily on its first year of operations and will ease population congestion in Metro Manila as those who live and stay in the metropolis have the option of living in other areas in Central Luzon where there are fewer people.

The transport official said the DOTr will mark on Monday the five stations of the Manila-Clark Railway Project which are in Marilao and Meycauayan in Bulacan, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Tutuban in Metro Manila.

The 106-km railway project that will run from Tutuban, Manila to Clark, Pampanga is among the high-impact projects of President Rodrigo Duterte under the government’s ‘Build Build Build’ infrastructure programme.

“Before the plans for this project are mere talk, now, the Duterte administration will make this a reality,” Tugade said.

Apart from the marked stations, the 12 other stations are: Solis, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, Clark International Airport, and the proposed New Clark City in Pampanga.

According to Philippine National Railways (PNR) General Manager Junn Magno, the project is seen to decongest Metro Manila and spread economic gains throughout the country.

“This project will ease traffic congestion and help thousands of commuters coming from Bulacan and Pampanga who travel daily to their workplaces or schools in Metro Manila,” Magno said.

According to the DOTr, the project will start construction in the last quarter of 2017 and will be completed by the last quarter of 2021.

The project costs P255 billion (Dh3 billion) and will be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan.

The whole line will have 13 train sets with eight cars or coaches per train set. Each train can reach a maximum speed of 120km per hour.

Earlier, the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had planned and started construction on a similar project covering the same area, the NorthRail Project in 2007.

The project was undertaken by Chinese rail contractor Sinomach, however, due to cost overruns the project was eventually shelved and the rails and infrastructures were unused.

The current project being undertaken this time is with a Japanese contractor.