Valenzuela station, formerly known as Polo station, is a former railway station located on the North Main Line in

Dalandanan Dalandanan is one of the highly developed barangays in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was named after the impressive line of dalandan trees that used to distinguish the area. Dalandanan houses the new Valenzuela City Astrodome, Val ...

Valenzuela Valenzuela may refer to: Places *Valenzuela, Paraguay * Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines *Valenzuela, Spain * Valenzuela de Calatrava, Spain * Valenzuela, Louisiana Other uses * Valenzuela (surname) Valenzuela is a surname that originated i ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is currently being rebuilt as part of the first phase of the

North–South Commuter Railway The North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR), also known as the Clark–Calamba Railway, is a urban rail transit system under construction in the island of Luzon, Philippines. Running from New Clark City in Capas to Calamba, Laguna with 36 sta ...

History

The station opened in as Polo station, in what was then the municipality of Polo in

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

. This was originally part of the railway line connecting

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to northern Luzon. It once served as a

flag stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

. Along with the then-municipality, it was later renamed and known as Valenzuela station. The station was abandoned in 1997 after services to Meycauayan ceased. It was supposed to be built as a result of the ''Northrail project'', a rebuilding of the line from Manila to

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

which would partly use the old

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. The project commenced in 2007, however, construction was halted though as of 2011. The ill-governed project did not continue even after a renegotiation, due to China calling off the overseas development assistance fund for the project. With the full swing construction of the North-South Commuter Railway, the old abandoned station is cordoned off and will be restored as part of the construction agreement. The new elevated station will be located immediately above the old one.

Revival

This station will be one of the first 6 stations of the Manila-Clark Railway or North-South Commuter Railway, a mass transit railway from Manila to the

New Clark City New Clark City is a planned community currently undergoing development, located within the Clark Special Economic Zone in the towns of Bamban and Capas in Tarlac province, Philippines. It has an area of approximately and will accommodate up to ...

. It is expected to be finished by 2021. It is also a likely target for restoration for the Metro North Commuter Line as the station before it, Acacia station, is reopened. Two stations may be considered. One candidate site, apart from the old station in Polo, Valenzuela, near the PNR bridge tunnel in the Karuhatan-Malinta border, the Malinta Bridge, if realized, will be within the historical railway station in Dalandanan, where

Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino army general who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination in 1899. Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of his ...

once planned defenses against the Americans during the precursors of the Philippine-American war. It is highly implied that the restoration of services may reach Meycauayan and beyond as it did in the past. Railway restoration was hampered by the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10.1 construction, which runs at vital parts of the route going to Valenzuela, which has since been opened on March 1, 2019. A vital component to the restoration of the services is the reconstruction of the railway bridge crossing Tullahan River, which has since been demolished and destroyed due to obsolescence and the construction of the expressway above. Studies to rebuild the bridge and eventually reintroduce railway services in Polo has been started.

References

{{SRTS Philippine National Railways stations Railway stations in Metro Manila Buildings and structures in Valenzuela, Metro Manila Proposed railway stations in the Philippines