CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — The high-speed train system visualized to link the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City Manila, and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga, will have stopovers in Quezon City, Manila and Makati City, as revealed yesterday by Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Passengers coming in and out of DMIA in Clark will soon enjoy a hassle-free 45-minute travel to NAIA and the rest of Metro Manila via the proposed high-speed train system.
MPIC plans to use the 84-kilometer North Luzon Expressway to accommodate the envisioned train system without having to forgo the travel time between the two international airports.
Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said the venture will be identified as “Express Airport Trains” which will have the following stopovers: Balintawak or near TriNoMa or SM North in Quezon City; Dimasalang or near the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila; and possibly Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly Buendia) in Makati City.
The proposal is to construct the new railways between the lanes of the NLEx, a revised schema from the earlier plan to construct it parallel to the railway due to some technical inconveniences.
CIAC said that using the projected trains, it will only take about 45 minutes to transport passengers from Clark Pampanga to Manila, and vice versa.
The railways project is expected to be forged through Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Landco Pacific Corporation (Landco).
Pangilinan is the Chairman of the Metro Pacific Investments, Corp. that operates and manages the NLEx.
In the interim, top government officials in Central Luzon have reiterated their call for President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III to pursue the plans of developing the DMIA as a premier international airport in the Philippines.
