PNR North Main Line
Solis station in 2011
Overview
Native name	Pangunahing Linyang Pahilaga ng PNR
Status	Closed[a]
Owner	Philippine National Railways
Locale	Metro Manila Central Luzon Ilocos Region Cordillera (until 1945)
Termini	Tutuban Governor Pascual
Continues as	PNR South Main Line
Stations	6
Website	www.pnr.gov.ph
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	PNR Luzon
Services	2
Depot(s)	Caloocan
Rolling stock	PNR Hyundai Rotem DMU 8100 classDMUs
History
Opened	November 24, 1892; 133 years ago (1892-11-24)
Closed	1997; 29 years ago (1997)
Reopened	August 1, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-08-01)
Technical
Line length	6.4 km (4.0 mi)
Track length	12.8 km (8.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Double-track Single-track withsidings (former)
Character	At-grade
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	40 km/h (25 mph)

ThePNR North Main Line (Filipino:Pangunahing Linyang Pahilaga ng PNR, simply known asPNR North orNorthrail) is one of the twotrunk lines of thePhilippine National Railways in the island ofLuzon, the other being thePNR South Main Line. The line during its maximum extent led to various cities andmunicipalities inCentral Luzon and theIlocos Region.

The project was originally proposed in 1875 during theSpanish era, and was constructed in stages between the 1880s and the 1890s as theFerrocarril de Manila a Dagupan (lit. 'Manila–Dagupan Railroad'). The line was opened toDagupan,Pangasinan on November 24, 1892. Further extensions to the line reached as far asBacnotan,La Union with passenger trains terminating at San FernandoU station in theprovincial capitol. It also briefly reachedSudipen near the provincial border withIlocos Sur duringWorld War II but was later dismantled in 1945.

Services peaked in the 1960s and the early 1970s until several factors such as fierce competition with thenational highway system, increasing maintenance costs, natural disasters and the1997 Asian financial crisis eventually led to the closure of the line in the late 1990s. The line only served as a connection for trains returning to the Caloocan depot. After 21 years of inactivity, services on the North Main Line resumed on August 1, 2018, with the reopening ofSolis station inTondo, Manila. More stations opened for the next few months with the latest beingGovernor Pascual on December 3 that year.

Like its counterpart to the south, the line is also slated to be rebuilt. TheNorth–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) is being constructed in the area ofBulacan. Once completed, it will connectTutuban station withClark International Airport inPampanga, andNew Clark City inTarlac. To its west of the line is the Subic–Clark railway which will initially be built for freight trains between theSubic Special Economic and Freeport Zone and Clark Airport with an extension to New Clark City. Other railroad lines that are separate from the NSCR are collectively referred as thePNR North Long Haul. Currently, this last project is still being proposed.

The railroad network in Luzon, predecessor to today's Philippine National Railways, was first proposed on August 6, 1875. To the north of Manila are two main lines, one leading toLaoag,Ilocos Norte and the other leading toTuguegarao,Cagayan. The system was approved by theSpanish East Indies government in 1880, but construction did not commence until 1887 due to the lack of a concession operator.^[1] Unlike the South Main Line which was built to its planned terminus inLegazpi, Albay, the North Main Line network never reached its intended termini inLaoag for the northwestern line andTuguegarao for the northeastern line.

The Manila Railway Company,Limited was created on June 1, 1887, and construction began.^[1] Initial site inspection was presided by Lieutenant Colonel José Gago y Palomo (1849–1908), who was renowned for buildingfortifications andtrails inMindanao forSpanish Army GeneralValeriano Weyler.^[2] According to Gary Satre on an investigative article in 1999, the use of3 feet, 6 inches gauge was made both as a cost-cutting measure and to allow tighter curves to suit the island's mountainous terrain.^[3] One of the main obstacles in the construction stage is crossing theRio Grande de Pampanga, after which a boxtruss bridge was built.^[1]

At the same time, severaltank locomotives were ordered by the Manila Railway. This began with an order for 2Manila Railway Manila class locomotives in 1886 from English manufacturerHunslet Engine Company. These were later namedManila andDagupan after the line's two planned termini.^[4] Between 1888 and 1890, thirtyManila Railway Dagupan class locomotives were ordered fromNeilson and Company andDübs and Company.^[5] Variouspassenger railcars andboxcars were also ordered from unknown British manufacturers.

Prior to the opening of the full length of the line toPangasinan,José Rizal was one of the most popular commuters of the early Ferrocarril de Manila a Dagupan. He used the line to recruit potentialLa Liga Filipina members prior to his exile. On February 23, 1892, he took a train to San Fernando station in Pampanga.^[6] He then commuted to various other locations in Central Luzon, until he took his last train with a 120 km (75 mi) trip toTarlac on June 26. He wrote that the trip took 5 hours, 40 minutes. This was 2 weeks prior to his exile toDapitan.^[3] On November 24, 1892, the line to Dagupan was inaugurated.^[7]

Manila Railway trains were used by both thePhilippine Revolutionary Army and theUnited States Army forces during thePhilippine–American War. PresidentEmilio Aguinaldo and his cabinet ministers used First Class car Z4 as their primary method of travel on the railroad, especially during their retreat to northern Luzon.^[8] On the other hand, the advancing American forces used the Manila Railway to carry freight and Army soldiers. Trains were also used as mobile hospitals, carrying soldiers who were either injured or killed during the fighting.^[9] A river bridge inBamban,Tarlac was destroyed along with one of theDagupan class locomotives used by the US Army. This is to prevent the American advance to Central Luzon.^[10] However, the efforts to sabotage the network were futile as Filipino forces were eventually defeated and President Aguinaldo was captured in 1901.^[11]

After the war, the network was repaired and expanded. The British owners were still allowed to operate for the following years, having reorganized into the Manila Railway Company (1906) Limited.^[12] Meanwhile, an American operator named the Manila Railroad Company (MRR) Corporation was established inNew Jersey that same year.^[13]

By 1909, the Manila Railroad took control of the system, although Horace L. Higgins still leads as its general manager in the country and theAnnual Report was still prepared with British conventions.^[13] New lines were defined byInsular Government Act No. 1905 as theNorthern Lines. This include the Manila–Dagupan main line, theAntipolo branch of theSouthern Lines, theCabanatuan branch, theFort Stotsenburg branch, and shortline railroads serving thePort of Manila and within Dagupan.^[14]

TheBaguio Special, the Philippines' first namedexpress train service, was inaugurated in 1911. Originally only stopping at Damortis inRosario, La Union with a luxury car service heading for thehill station ofBaguio, this train started the scramble for a direct rail service.^[15] Construction for the Aringay–Baguio line started in 1914 but was never finished and the tunnel leading to the city was never completed, citing British involvement inWorld War I as the reason.^[16] This later made the Manila Railway's remaining Philippine unit to be absorbed into the Manila Railroad on January 8, 1917, with general manager Horace L. Higgins replaced byColonel Henry Bayard McCoy.^[17]

Under McCoy's leadership, the Manila Railroad modernized its locomotive fleet with the purchase of several American-built tender locomotives over the next few years. Meanwhile, theAmerican Car and Foundry provided both regular passenger andsleeping cars, starting with the newBaguio Night Special service.^[18] After his death in 1923, he was then succeeded by Jose Paez, the first Filipino general manager of the company. Paez continued the fleet modernization started by McCoy as well as expanded the network to its established termini atSan Fernando, La Union on March 16, 1929, and a seamless network to theBicol Region was opened on May 8, 1938.^[19]

Although the line was damaged after theFirst Philippines campaign duringWorld War II, the Japanese briefly extended it toSudipen near theLa Union–Ilocos Sur border, some 41.6 kilometers (25.8 miles) north of San Fernando. After theSecond Philippines campaign, the line has been closed. The line was eventually dismantled so that track materials would give way for the reconstruction of the Main Line South's network.^[20] Additionally, the Aringay–Tuba section of the Baguio line was closed and the 300 class rack tank locomotives used for this service were scrapped in 1945.^[21] However, the tracks remained by as late as the 1960s and were built over bypaddy fields.^[16]

Only over a third of the Manila Railroad system was usable after the war, amounting to 452 km (281 mi).^[22] Around eighty percent of its rolling stock were also destroyed.^[23] The system was eventually rebuilt, but not all branch lines were restored.

In 1951,Ramon Magsaysay was appointed as general manager of the Manila Railroad. Under Magsaysay's term as general manager despite being only three months, made the company extend its network toBacnotan. He would also preside the beginning of theCagayan Valley extension.^[3] Magsaysay later became thePresident of the Philippines in 1953 and under his term, the Manila Railroad underwent another fleet modernization. Its entire steam locomotive fleetwill be replaced bydiesel locomotives starting in 1954. In August 1956, the modernization has been completed and all steam locomotives were relegated to maintenance work or retired altogether.^[24] Yards along the North Main Line in Pampanga became the storage location of these locomotives until they were all scrapped in the 1960s and onwards.^[25]

By 1964, the Manila Railroad was reorganized and renamed into the presentPhilippine National Railways. The renaming took inspiration from theJapanese National Railways. The early days of the PNR was also claimed to be the agency's golden years. While operations were smaller in scale to its southern counterpart, the North Main Line was still a popular means of travel leading out ofMetro Manila. The line sought an estimated daily ridership of 3,000 passengers.^[22]

The 1970s were the beginning of the decline of operations on the North Main Line. The Cagayan Valley extension was never fully realized and PNR trains only terminated atSan Jose, Nueva Ecija. Thetunnel boring machines were then sold-off as debt payment for the project, and track work has been reverted into roads. A later investigation found that theMarcos government transferred the funds to the construction of theMaharlika Highway.^[3] The 1980s started the closure of the line due to decreasing ridership. A bridge collapse in 1984 ordered the closure of the services to the Ilocos Region. The line was then reduced to Caloocan in 1988, leaving the South Main Line the only operational intercity line at that point.^[22] There was a brief return of a commuter rail service toMalolos as part of theMetrotren program between 1990 and 1997.^[26]

Since then, theRamos administration took advantage of the recently closed North Main Line to revitalize plans toelectrify thecommuter rail service inMetro Manila. The project was originally proposed by theJapan International Cooperation Agency in 1978.^[27] This was named as the Manila–Clark rapid railway project with the assistance of Spain.^[28][29] Construction continued as theNorthrail project during thepresidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but stopped during thepresidency of Benigno Aquino III due to disagreements with its Chinese backers. The project was never completed and ended like the failedHopewell Project ofBangkok, Thailand.^[30] It was not until the 2010s when the present form was realized as theNorth–South Commuter Railway.

Another railway project was also proposed during the late 1990s as part of thePhilippines 2000 program under President Ramos. In 1995, the Manila–Rizal–Laguna–Quezon Growth Corridor (MARILAQUE) was proposed and the MARILAQUE Commission was established for the development of the area. They were tasked by the national government to implement theSilangan Railway Express 2000 project. The 95 km (59 mi) line would have connected the northern half ofMetro Manila to Rizal similar to the pre-war Antipolo and Marikina lines. It would then be extended eastward towards eastern Rizal province and northern Quezon, both more rural than the areas once plied by the two aforementioned lines.^[31] While plans continued under the term of PresidentJoseph Estrada with theJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) by as late as 1999, it never materialized and was not considered to be built by future administrations.^[32]

There were no services on the North Main Line during much of the 2000s, although the line was still used for trains heading to PNR's maintenance facility in Caloocan. Trial service on the North Main Line were planned later on. Between 2009 and 2010, PNR stations were renovated including a number of stations on the North Main Line. Some second-hand 12 series coaches were also acquired from theEast Japan Railway Company as the NR class. These coaches were later reassigned to the South Main Line.^[33] Despite these initial plans not continuing as planned, the line was eventually reactivated. AShuttle Service was opened from10th Avenue station inCaloocan toDela Rosa station inMakati on August 1, 2018.^[34] Since then, a regularMetro North Commuter service has been opened and theShuttle Service was expanded toBicutan station inParañaque.^[35] Since 2020, the newly purchasedPNR 8000 classdiesel multiple units were then assigned to the line and replaced second-handKiHa 350s andKiHa 52s DMUs.^[36]

The North Main Line currently only has stations within northernMetro Manila, though it previously had stations inBulacan,Pampanga,Tarlac,Pangasinan andLa Union. Branch lines also led toNueva Ecija, while tracks and track bed were already placed inIsabela andCagayan prior to the Cagayan Valley extension project's cancellation in the 1970s.

Only twocommuter rail services run on the North Main Line, both of which only operate withinMetro Manila. This is unlike itscounterpart to the south that would have some trains lead to neighboringLaguna province during rush hour.^[35]

There are only two services that run on the North Main Line as of 2019:^[35]

• TheMetro North Commuter service runs betweenTutuban station inManila andGovernor Pascual station inMalabon. This service does not pass through any stations on the South Main Line due to thewye junction inTondo, Manila.
• TheShuttle Service runs between Governor Pascual andBicutan,Parañaque on the South Main Line. Unlike the Metro North Commuter, it skips Tutuban via the Tondo wye and would go towards the direction ofBlumentritt for southbound trains orSolis for northbound trains.

The North Main Line hosted both intercity and commuter trains like its southern counterpart. While its intercity services have been discontinued since 1988 and much of the right of way has been converted to roads, its commuter service was reconstructed and reopened in 2018. However, not all of its historic commuter operations are in active service and these are set to be replaced within the 2020s either byrapid transit or the NSCR.

There were several commuter rail services leading in and out of Manila on the North Main Line during its history. Some of the lines were eventually closed, and their reconstruction were later deemed unnecessary to restore because of existingrapid transit infrastructure from other systems.

• The first known commuter rail branch on the North Main Line was theAntipolo line. Inaugurated in 1908, it connectedAntipolo,Manila province to downtownManila viaSanta Mesa. Services on this line were hauled by specializedtank locomotives due to its steep gradients such as theManila Railroad 160 classKitson–Meyer locomotives. This was however closed in 1917 after aSupreme Court of the Philippines ruling that ordered the closure of the line.^[37] The return of train services toRizal were proposed later on, the latest being theLRT Line 2 eastward extension toAntipolo (Masinag). The extension opened on July 5, 2021, replacing the old Antipolo line.
  • TheMarikina branch was finished earlier than the Antipolo line in 1906 toMarikina, but was closed much later. The line branched off the Antipolo line in Marikina and led toMontalban. After the Antipolo line was closed in 1917, the line was closed in 1936 at the same time with theNaic line toCavite.^[38] The section up to Marikina is also set to be replaced by the LRT Line 2 eastward extension.
  • TheGuadalupe line was the 13 km (8.1 mi) reconstruction of the old Antipolo line in the 1970s fromSanta Mesa, Manila toMandaluyong. It terminated at Guadalupe station, but it was located on the other side of thePasig River as its namesake district inMakati.^[39] The line was closed in 1983 after only 9 years of operations, and the rail bridge that carried the line was destroyed in 1991. The area in which the Guadalupe line operated has now been covered by the LRT Line 2 and theMRT Line 3.
• There was also a once-a-day service betweenTutuban andSan Fernando. It was opened on January 21, 1968. The service took around 2 hours in 1976, in which it was extended to Angeles.^[40] The service was closed in 1988 with the closure of the entire North Main Line outside ofMetro Manila. This service in particular shall be superseded by the NSCR North, which will extend services further toNew Clark City inCapas,Tarlac.
• The last commuter service on the line out of Metro Manila was theMetrotren Tutuban–Malolos service. Inaugurated not long after the closure of the commuter service toPampanga in 1990, the service led toMalolos,Bulacan. However, it was short-lived and was closed amidst the1997 Asian financial crisis.^[26] This service shall also be superseded by the NSCR North withMalolos as the terminus of Phase 1.

The North Main Line was first opened when the Manila–Dagupan Railway was opened in 1892. At its height between the 1950s and 1960s, the line went from Tutuban to Dagupan and also served untilSan Fernando, La Union. The line also boasted severalrail yards. It also had branch lines to various areas in Central Luzon. However, its services severely deteriorated in the 1980s. All regular operations outside Metro Manila first ended in 1988,^[41] and the line was closed in 1997.

TheAmianan Express was a night train service that opened in 1974. It left Manila by 11 pm and arrived in San Fernando by 4:30 am the next day. It was serviced by then-newPNR 900 class diesel-electric locomotives and five coaches capable of seating 912 people. After ending in San Fernando station, commuters would take the bus to Ilocos Norte and Sur, and Benguet. Later, it was expanded into two services, theAmianan Day Express and theAmianan Night Express. TheAmianan Night Express ran faster than its day counterpart, theAmianan Day Express, making the 260 km (160 mi) run toSan Fernando, La Union in five hours.^[42]

The difficulty of terrain to build new train lines prevented both MRR and PNR to have direct train services toBaguio City, then a smallhill station in theCordillera Region. There were already plans for a rail line to the town, but was ultimately cancelled in 1917 due to lack of funding.

• The first train service was theBaguio Special (Spanish:Manila a Baguio Especial,lit. 'Manila–Baguio Special'^[43]). It was inaugurated in 1911 and was the country's first flagship service. The train initially stopped inPangasinan until the line was later extended to Damortis station inSanto Tomas, La Union.^[44] From here,limousines would take travelers to Baguio. This service was extremely popular that Damortis went through an overhaul in 1938 to support the demand of travelers.^[45]
  • In 1922, anight service was added. At least one car was ordered from theAmerican Car and Foundry Company to serve theBaguio Night Special. Both services ended in 1941.^[46]
• A second service was inaugurated by the MRR by around 1955. Passengers would ride the train from Tutuban to Damortis station inSanto Tomas, La Union, then will ride a limousine service ofChevrolet Bel Airs to Pines Hotel in Baguio. It costed ₱45 (equivalent to $217 in 2020 US Dollars) for this package.^[47]
• The third and last service was opened during the PNR era with a bus service leading to Baguio, with buses provided byHino Motors. This service operated until all provincial services on the North Main Line were suspended by late 1984, when all trains to the Ilocos Region were suspended.^[48]

TheDagupan Express opened on February 10, 1979. It was serviced by the MCBP classdiesel multiple units, the intercity version of the MC-300 multiple units of 1968. Like theAmianan Express, theDagupan Express also ended in 1984 after all North Main Line services terminated in Tarlac.^[49]

TheIlocos Express was inaugurated on March 15, 1930. The services includes a dining car with catering provided by theManila Hotel. Another variant of the service was theBaguio-Ilocos Express. Following the modernization program of the Manila Railway Company in 1955, the Ilocos Express featured a 7A class "De Luxe" coach until 1979, when the lack of operable air-conditioned coaches caused a switch to a "Tourist"-class coach. The company also operated thePaniqui Express in the 1930s, but that was eclipsed by theIlocos Express. There were two accidents involving the service, one in 1939 and another in 1959.^[50]

It was also known as theIlocos Special onSpanish language promotional material. Such services were intended to connect Tutuban and Manila within 6 hours using newly-refurbished locomotives that burnfuel oil instead of coal.^[51]

Due to the North Main Line only running a few kilometers north toMalabon, the line runs relatively few trains. The line currently usesPNR Hyundai Rotem DMUs,203 series andPNR 8000 class trainsets.^[36] Ex-JNR rolling stock such asKiHa 35 andKiHa 52 have been out of service for the line.^[52]

TheBuild! Build! Build! Infrastructure Program provided an overview of the planned system in northern and central Luzon. All new lines arestandard-gauge railways.

The North section of theNorth–South Commuter Railway, also known asNSCR North andPNR Clark, is a 91 km (57 mi) section that shall rebuild the historic commuter services toMalolos inBulacan, as well asSan Fernando andAngeles City inPampanga before terminating atClark International Airport. The line shall also be extended toNew Clark City,^[53] with a targeted opening date between 2023 and 2025.^[54]

Development started after the old Northrail project was cancelled when theDepartment of Transportation and Communications attempted to reactivate the construction of a new electrifiedcommuter rail line. Canadian firmCPCS Transcom Limited was commissioned to conduct afeasibility study for a Malolos–Los Baños commuter line as part of a larger effort to reformMetro Manila's public transport system.^[55][56] This was eventually approved as the North–South Railway Project (NSRP) in 2014.^[57] In August 2015, thetrack gauge for the NSRP was changed fromstandard gauge to1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge so there will be no need of an overhaul of the existing network.^[58] This was later reverted to standard gauge after the North–South Commuter Railway in its present form was announced on June 1, 2018.^[59]

Pre-construction work such as clearing of the right of way was started on January 6, 2018. The groundbreaking and construction from Tutuban to Malolos started on February 15, 2019.^[60] The contract for the construction of NSCR North 1 was awarded to the Filipino-Japanese consortium ofDMCI Holdings andTaisei Corporation on May 21, 2019.^[61][62] The contract for the construction of the railway viaduct from Tutuban to Bocaue was awarded in December 2020 to Swiss firmVSL International, a subsidiary of FrenchconglomerateBouygues.^[63] NSCR North 2 was then awarded starting in August 2020 to various consortiums of local and international companies.^{[64][65][66][67]}

On April 12, 2021, clearing works began for the newCalumpit station inBarangay Iba Oeste (West),Calumpit,Bulacan. The three-floor building will be the first station to be constructed for the NSCR North Phase 2.^[68] Prior to May, construction work forApalit station commenced. As of May 1, concrete pouring has been completed on some of the piers whilegeotechnical engineering work are still ongoing.^[69]

The NSCR will be the PNR's first electrified mainline. With this move to electrification, the DOTr has allotted a total of 360electric multiple units for this service. The first batch of 104Sustina Commuter EMUs commuter trains were already ordered from theJapan Transport Engineering Company. Another batch of 200 commuter EMUs and 56 airport express trains are also being procured.^[70][71]

PNR requested a feasibility study for the reconstruction of the old Cabanatuan branch line in January 2019. Once approved, this will become theNortheast Commuter Line. It will start on NSCR tracks in Makati and will branch off the main line atBalagtas station in Bulacan. The line proper will continue for at least 92 km (57 mi) northeast towardsNueva Ecija, ending at the city ofCabanatuan.^[72] There are also plans for an extension toSan Jose, Nueva Ecija, sealing a loop with the NSCR northward extension there.^[73]

The Environmental Protection Division (Enro) of Cabanatuan held a stakeholders' consultation meeting on July 29, 2020. This also announced that the line has 17 stations with the extension to San Jose. AtGuiguinto, the line will take a new right-of-way compared to the old Cabanatuan line.^[74] AtSan Rafael, Bulacan, the Northeast Commuter will then follow the old route to Cabanatuan. Another new route will be built towards San Jose. This will join with the Tarlac–San Jose extension of the NSCR (NSCR North 4) towards North Long Haul East, which will then terminate atTuguegarao.^[75]

PNR general manager Junn Magno stated on an interview with local TV showMotoring Today on February 7, 2021, that the agency is still developing proposals for the line. Once completed, it will shorten travel times between job centers in Metro Manila andcommuter towns in eastern Bulacan within 55 to 60 minutes.^[52]

• TheSubic–Clark Railway (SCRP) is a line to be constructed between theSubic Special Economic and Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport. The 71 km (44 mi) railroad shall be built initially with a single track and to be operated with diesel locomotives, accommodating solely for freight trains between the two freeport zones. The maximum speed for the initial line is 80 km/h (50 mph). The current right-of-way already has an allowance for upgrade to double-track and an electrified system. Under these upgrades shall passenger services be included, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).^[76] Once successful, this project shall pave the way for the construction of the PNR North Long Haul.^[77]
• TheNorth Philippine Dry Port Container Rail Transport Service, or simply theNorth Dry Port is a proposed 27 km (17 mi) single-track freight line connecting theManila North Harbor with the upcoming Balagtas Dry Port inBalagtas, Bulacan.^[78] This will reconstruct the present North Main Line infrastructure as well as the branch line leading to the North Harbor that was already dismantled. There are also plans to connect it with the Subic–Clark Railway^[79] for an estimated total length of 86 km (53 mi).^[78] As of February 2021, the project is still in the proposal stage with itsfeasibility study still being made.^[52] The track gauge for this system is yet to be determined, although a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) was selected for the line.^[79]

Both rail lines shall be interconnected to the North Long Haul via the Subic–Clark Railway, and to the South Long Haul via the overhaul of the existing tracks of thePNR Metro Commuter Line.^[80]

The diesel-electric locomotive to be used for the service is yet to be determined. It is expected that there will be four- and six-axle designs capable of at least 80 km/h (50 mph) operational speed. Meanwhile, the freight cars are classified into two categories: containerized and non-containerized. The average train lengths are between 250–350 meters (820–1,150 ft) for the initial phase while 650 meters (2,130 ft) will be the trains' maximum allowable length per the design of the line.^[81]

In 2016, promotional images use theChina Railways HXN5 as a sample rolling stock for the line.^[82]

TheNorth Long Haul project shall revive the intercity section of the North Main Line north of New Clark City station in Capas. It shall also expand into regions that were not served by railways. The line is set to be connected to the South Main Line through the NSCR, the SCRP and the North Dry Port projects.^[52]

A majority of the project's main lines have been proposed since 1875, long before intercity services were opened in 1892. The Cagayan Valley Extension, predecessor to the North Long Haul East, initially had some of its right of way built in the 1950s and 1960s. However, construction was cancelled after 1966 and the equipment used was later sold.^[3] Contemporary efforts to reviving the North Main Line were first announced in 2017 during a DOTr's presentation to the South KoreanMinistry of Foreign Affairs.^[83] It is expected that the system will be electrified with 1.5 kVDC electrification, being future extensions of the NSCR North and the SCRP. The upgrades shall happen once enough traffic has been reached to justify their implementation.^[77]

The system consists of two lines:

• TheNorth Long Haul West is a reconstruction of the old North Main Line betweenNew Clark City andLa Union, with extensions toLaoag, the supposed final terminus of theManila-Dagupan Railway. The line was expected to be around 159 km (99 mi) long, shortened from the former length of 175 km (109 mi) due to changes in design.^[83] In 2023, the line's length was extended up toLaoag,Ilocos Norte, adding a further 183 km (114 mi) from its initial terminus atSan Fernando, La Union, bringing the total length to 419 km (260 mi).^[84]
• TheNorth Long Haul East aims to revive the failed Cagayan Valley Extension project that was cancelled in the late 1960s. Branching off the old main line atTarlac City, the line will continue towards the direction of San Jose, Nueva Ecija from which the 10 km (6.2 mi)Caraballo Tunnel will be built. After the tunnel, the line continues northward toIsabela andCagayan until it terminates atTuguegarao.^[3] The line is expected to be around 434 km (270 mi) long.^[84]

• Subic-Clark Railway Project Map —ArcGIS map of the alignment for this project.
• Railways SectorArchived May 26, 2021, at theWayback Machine — A webpage detailing the proposed rail lines under the Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure Program on the official website of theDepartment of Transportation.
• Gary Satre's 1999 article on the Cagayan Valley Extension Project on theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman's official website.

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