The Philippine government will hold on Monday the "station marking" of a railway project to be funded by a loan from Japan.

In a statement, the Department of Transportation said five of the 17 stations of the P255-billion Manila-Clark Railway Project will be marked.

The stations to be marked are those found in Marilao and Meycauayan in Bulacan, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Tutuban in Metro Manila. The other stations include Solis, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, Calumpit, Apalit, San Fernando, Angeles, Clark, Clark International Airport, and the proposed New Clark City in Pampanga.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade vowed to make the 106-kilometer railway project a reality.

“For the first time, a rail project will connect Manila to Central Luzon and it will be completed under the Duterte administration," he said.

Once completed, the project would cut the travel time from Manila to Clark in Pampanga from two hours to just 55 minutes. It is expected to benefit 350,000 passengers daily on its first year of operations.

The Philippine National Railways will implement the project, which is seen to decongest Metro Manila and spread economic gains throughout the country.

“This project will ease traffic congestion and help thousands of commuters coming from Bulacan and Pampanga who travel daily to their workplaces or schools in Metro Manila,” said PNR General Manager Junn Magno.

According to the DOTr, the project will start construction in the last quarter of 2017 and will be completed by the last quarter of 2021. The whole line will have 13 train sets with eight cars or coaches per train set. Each train can reach a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. DMS