PNR Metro Commuter Line

The Metro South Commuter (also known as MSC) is the main and only train service currently being offered by PNR that run along the Metro 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.[2] As of September 2019, the trips (morning and night) now reaches Calamba while the other service to Mamatid is dropped making the MSC1907 the only train servicing Laguna.

In August 1, 2018, Philippine National Railways reinstated commuter train services to Caloocan station, as preparation for the Tutuban-Malolos railway, the first section of the railway line that will end at Clark in Pampanga. The line was reopened after the line was repaired due to water intrusion. According to claims by the Department of Transportation, it will be the most efficient way of travel between Caloocan and Makati. Services will continue operating until the completion of the Tutuban-Malolos Railway, after which the line will be mostly dedicated to cargo hauling. [3] Originally running from 10th Avenue to Dela Rosa, it was upgraded into the Caloocan-FTI shuttle service on September 10 (officially called the Sangangdaan-FTI shuttle service). On December 3, 2018, it was again extended to Acacia/Governor Pascual station, with plans to extend the service up to Valenzuela railway station, and poised to carry 120,000 passengers daily if completed.[4]

On December 1, 2019, Train services to the International Rice Research Institute inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños were started. Five new stations were added to the route: Pansol and Masili in Calamba Laguna, and Los Baños, College and IRRI in the neighboring town of Los Baños. [5]

The service uses the Kogane train set previously used for Premiere Train Services. The service originates from Tutuban exclusively on Sundays, while it starts from Dela Rosa from Monday-Saturday. The train only loads a limited number of passengers in Dela Rosa, FTI, Bicutan, Sucat and Alabang Stations when going southbound, but unloading in stations in between like Nichols and EDSA are allowed.[6]

On December 16, 2019, Regular Commuter services between Alabang, Calamba and IRRI were launched. The service uses Kiha-350 DMUs and runs the full route thrice daily from both endpoints and twice from the Calamba-IRRI segment. [7]

During the Metrotren era, Commuter Services was extended Northwards to Meycauayan, Bulacan on May 10, 1990, with the Caloocan to Meycauayan Extension of the services before it was abandoned in 1997 due to maintenance costs and inadequate services.

A part of this line was attempted to be revived, namely the stations up to Caloocan during the latter half of the 2000s, with the rest to be revived as part of the future Northrail. The DOTr reactivated the stations along Solis, 5th Avenue, 10th Avenue, Caloocan and Governor Pascual, which was disturbed due to the construction of NLEX Segment 10.1, for the Caloocan-Dela Rosa, Sangangdaan-FTI and Gov. Pascual-FTI shuttle as above-mentioned, and there are plans to rebuild the old lines to Valenzuela City and beyond to return full service revenue train stops to the CAMANAVA and potentially Bulacan area after many years.

A spur line towards Carmona was opened on April 1, 1973 to serve the residents of the San Pedro-Carmona Resettlement Project, unfortunately, it fell into disuse, number of trips decreased and subsequently was abandoned. Plans are underway to renovate the line for a potential 2019 reopening, first for a 5th shuttle service and then towards a future return to revenue train services in the line.[8]

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.

1. Tutuban – Sucat
2. Sucat – Tutuban
3. Sta. Mesa – Sucat
4. 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. The service officially returned to the line on August 1, 2018, this time, to serve from the 10th Avenue railway station up to the Dela Rosa railway station using a JR KiHa 350 DMU. An additional service, opening on September 10, operates from the reopened Caloocan railway station to the FTI railway station.

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.

The existing Metro Commuter Line will be reconstructed as an electrified standard-gauge full double-track line.[9][10] Funding for the project, which costs ₱131 billion, is provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and is expected to serve 300,000 passengers a day at its initial year of operation.[9] The 55.6-kilometer (34.5 mi) railway will run from Solis in Manila to Calamba in Laguna, and will also connect with the line to Malolos, Clark International Airport and New Clark City.

Due to the predicted traffic gridlock in the metropolis, PNR has been steadily expanding the newly-restored Metro North Commuter to reestablish services previously lost due to neglect and aborted upgrades, and to give viable transportation alternatives. Apart from acquiring new rolling stock and the newly-restored Acacia (now Governor Pascual) station, Valenzuela is next in line for restoration, with a railroad bridge crossing Tullahan River requiring reconstruction, aimed for completion in 30–45 days upon approval.[4]

The restored lines will eventually be superseded by the North-South Commuter Railway, but will still serve as a redundant transportation alternative and will carry freight and cargo services.