Type Commuter rail Locale Metro Manila Stations 27 stations | Status Operational Termini Tutuban
Calamba | |
 | ||
Native name Pambansang Daambakal ng Pilipinas | ||
The Philippine National Railways Metro South Commuter Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Philippine National Railways, stretching from Tondo, Manila to the southern edge of Metro Manila. Presently, there are 27 railway stations. The line is colored orange on most maps.
Contents
- History
- Route
- Rolling stock
- Metro South Commuter
- Shuttle Service
- Manila Metro Commuter Line rehabilitation Phase 2
- References
The line runs in a general north-south direction from Tondo to the Province of Laguna, linking the cities of Manila, Makati, Taguig, Parañaque and Muntinlupa. Passengers can transfer to the LRT Line 1 at Blumentritt railway station, to LRT Line 2 at Santa Mesa railway station and to MRT Line 3 at EDSA railway station.
The Metro South Commuter Line has known for many names including PNR Metro Commuter Line, shortened to Metro Commuter, Metro Manila Commuter Service, Metro South Commuter, Orange Line, Metrotrak, Metrotren, and Commuter Express or Commex. The orange color of the line dates back to its major upgrade in the 1980s.
History
The PNR commuter service started in April 6. 1970, starting at Manila North Harbor, with stops at Tutuban, Blumentritt, Santa Mesa, Paco, Pasay Road (Culi-Culi), Gelmart (Philippine-American Embroidery), Sucat, Alabang and ends at Biñan, Laguna. The commuter service between Tutuban and San Pedro, Laguna started in November 30, 1972, it was further extended up to College station in Los Baños. The Kiha 52 trial reaches Masaya, Bay beyond the farthest terminus.
Route
The Metro Commuter Line is predominantly aligned and shares the path of the South Main Line or SouthRail which uses a dedicated right of way of its own. It terminates at Calamba Station despite having rails further towards Sorsogon, but few trains stop at Sta. Rosa and Calamba Stations further to the south. Inter-provincial services such as the Bicol Express and Mayon Limited are not running as of 2015, but plans to revive the services have been presented, especially Bicol Express will hopefully open by January or February 2017, at least as far as Naga, Camarines Sur.
Rolling stock
Four types of rolling stock currently runs on the PNR Metro Commuter line: the Hyundai Rotem Diesel Multiple Units, the locomotive hauled JR 203 Electric multiple units, and the JR Kiha 52 Diesel multiple units. The line is also being served by the JR Kiha 59 (Kogane) unit which is called as the "Premiere Train" service which runs from Tutuban up to Mamatid. Due to the opening of the Calamba Station building, the Premiere Train services were currently suspended until further notice. After a derailment in April 2015 the train services were suspended for nearly three months.
Metro South Commuter
The Metro South Commuter (also known as MSC) is the main train service offered by PNR that run along the Metro South Commuter Line. The trains that are currently being used for this service are the 900 Series Locomotives, PNR 2500 Series Locomotives, 203 series ex-Joban Line Local EMUs donated by JR East, and the South Korean Hyundai Rotem DMUs. The trips are reduced upon announcements. On December 2, 2014, the new Calamba Station was inaugurated. Later that night, the MSC1907 was extended up to the said station. The MSC1937 was also extended, but only up to Sta. Rosa Station. As of July 2015, MSC services run between Tutuban and Alabang. But in October 2016, the trips (morning and night) reach Mamatid.
Shuttle Service
The Shuttle Service was introduced on January 27, 2014. This service uses Hyundai Rotem DMUs and JR KiHa 52. There are 4 routes of the Shuttle Service, where trains stop at all stations along the routes.
- Tutuban - Sucat
- Sucat - Tutuban
- Sta. Mesa - Sucat
- Sucat - Sta. Mesa
This train service was removed last May 23, 2014 to give way to maintenance servicing of the rolling stocks. Another reason was the 3 consecutive weeks of delays and cancellations of some train trips.
Premiere Train
The Premiere Train was a special MSC service that operates from Monday to Friday, except holidays. The train being used in this special service was the KiHa 59 "Kogane" train set, which is also from Japan. The train used to stop at selected stations only, namely Tutuban, Blumentritt, España, Sta. Mesa, Buendia, Pasay Road, EDSA (flagstop), Sucat, Alabang, San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, and Mamatid. The service had 4 trips: MSC501, MSC702, MSC1555, and MSC1802.
The service is currently suspended, due to the inauguration of the station building of Calamba (December 2014) and due to the repairs of the trainset being used for this service.
Manila Metro Commuter Line rehabilitation Phase 2
Following the rehabilitation of the Caloocan-Tutuban-Alabang segments, the rehabilitation and double-tracking of the Metro Commuter Line from Alabang to Calamba has been considered since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration. The first phase of the rehabilitation was funded via overseas aid from South Korea and that was also the plan for the second phase. Rehabilitation of the stations is being done but the double-tracking is not due to lack of funds.