PNR Metro South Commuter Line

 PNR Metro South Commuter 

A PNR Hyundai Rotem DMU set currently used for the Metro South Commuter Line
Overview
Locale Metro Manila
Number of stations 27 stations
Daily ridership 100,000
Website PNR Metro Commuter Line - timetables
Operation
Operator(s) Philippine National Railways

The Philippine National Railways Metro South Commuter Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Philippine National Railways, stretching from Tondo (in Manila) to the southern edge of Metro Manila. Presently, there are 27 railway stations.[1] The line is colored orange on most maps.

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 station, while passengers can transfer to LRT Line 2 at Santa Mesa station and passengers can transfer to MRT Line 3 at EDSA station.

The Metro South Commuter Line was known for many names such as PNR Metro Commuter Line, shortened to Metro Commuter, Metro South Commuter, Orange Line, Metrotrak, Metrotren, and Commuter Express or Commex. However, the orange color of the line dates back to its first major upgrade in the 1980s.

Route

Phase 1 Route Map above the door

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.

Inside a PNR Hyundai Rotem DMU Metro Commuter train

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.

Rolling stock Hyundai Rotem DMUs PNR 900 Class and PNR 2500 Class Locomotives ex-JR 203 series Electric multiple units ex-JR KiHa 52 Diesel multiple unit ex-JR KiHa 59/29 (Kogane) Diesel multiple unit
Number of train units 18 (6 sets) 21 (900 Class)
43 (2500 Class)
JR East: 40 (4 sets, 10-car formation)
PNR: 36 (5 sets, 5-car formation; 3 sets, 4-car formation)
7 (2 sets; 1 car reserved) 3 (1 set)
Currently in operation 12 (4 sets) 7 (900 Class)
1 (2500 Class)
25 (5 sets, 5-car formation) 0 (Orange set was derailed and has bogie cracks; Blue set is servicing the Bicol Commuter; Reserved train is the source of spare parts) 3 (1 set)

Services

Current

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 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.

Past

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.

  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.

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.

Plans

Manila Metro Commuter Line rehabilitation Phase 2

Plans on rehabilitating and doubletracking the second phase of the Metro Commuter Line from Alabang towards Calamba has been considered since the administration of Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo following the rehabilitation of the Caloocan-Tutuban-Alabang segments or the first phase of the Metro Commuter Line rehabilitation. The first phase of the rehabilitation was funded via soft-loans or and ODA grant from South Korea which was supposedly also the plan for the Phase 2 but were shelved due to termination of the new administration. Rehabilitation of the Phase 2 stations is still on going but the double-tracking is shelved due to lack of funds.

See also

References

  1. "Metro commuter - Philippine National Railways". Philippine National Railways. Retrieved 2015-07-26.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, February 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.