The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is speeding up the completion of 16,575 housing units for families affected by the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System by end of 2026.

President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. has directed the DOTr to ensure the timely completion of the housing units and to see to it that affected families are guaranteed of available houses in time for the operations of the NSCR.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the DOTr and other concerned agencies are ensuring the speedy completion of the housing units for the affected families.

“The President has ordered that housing units be completed so that our countrymen affected by the NSCR can live in them immediately. We are working with the agencies responsible for the housing units to complete them immediately,” Lopez said as quoted in a news release on Monday.

In the NSCR’s south segment, the DOTr is working with the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to deliver units in Laguna, providing in-city and near-city housing developments in San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Calamba and in Naic, Cavite.

These include Sining Residence II (1,920 units), Sining Residence I (528 units), The Meadows (2,030 units), Rizal Ville (2,130 units) and Naic in Cavite (5,452 units).

In the north segment, the DOTr is partnering with the National Housing Authority for three relocation sites in Pampanga and one in Bulacan, targeting 4,515 informal settler families to be relocated in Angeles City, City of San Fernando and Calumpit in Bulacan.

Transportation Assistant Secretary for Right of Way and Site Acquisition (ROWSA) IC Calaguas and SHFC Engineer Renalyn Nacpil conducted site inspections to ensure the timely completion of the projects.

The 147-kilometer NSCR System will traverse from Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna, reducing travel time from CRK to Calamba to less than 2.5 hours from the current four hours via land travel.

It will feature the country’s first Airport Express Service, which will connect CRK to Makati in less than an hour and will connect CRK to Alabang in less than one hour and 15 minutes. It will also feature the country’s first Through Train Interoperations with the Metro Manila Subway.

The 35-station rail system is expected to generate 350,000 jobs during construction and operations, while serving almost 1 million passengers daily at full operations.