PNR EM10000 class

Tokyu Car Corporation[lower-alpha 6] once constructed diesel multiple units and locomotive-hauled cars for the Manila Railroad Company and its succeeding incarnation, the Philippine National Railways. The company first built twenty JMC class DMUs alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for its short-range services in 1955 as part of Manila Railroad's efforts towards dieselization.[1] In 1968, a daily commuter service to San Fernando, Pampanga was launched, using the MC-300 cars also built by Tokyu.[2]

A second batch of 24 CMC class railcars were ordered for the expanded Metro Manila Commuter Service to Angeles City. The trainsets arrived in batches between 1974 and 1976.[3] By the mid and late 1980s, long-haul commuter services such as those leading to Pampanga were cut due to a lack of funding, political instability, and a government debt crisis.[4]

The CMC and JMC were then retired from service in 2004 after being replaced by ex-JNR 12 and 14-series locomotive-hauled coaches, referred to as the 7A-2000 class.[5]

Numerous plans to electrify the PNR network have been made since 1978,[6] most notably the discontinued Northrail project which would have used the European 25 kV AC railway electrification standard. It was cancelled in 2011 due to alleged overpricing and reports of anomalous deals.[7] The Northrail project was then revived in the late 2010s as the North–South Commuter Railway but now using the Japanese 1.5 kilovolt DC electrification standard.

The Japan Railway Technical Service (JARTS)[lower-alpha 7] developed the STRASYA standard in 2004. It is an acronym for Standard Urban Railway System for Asia and are Japanese-built trains exported for use by other Asian countries. It uses a standardized rolling stock gauge of 20 m (66 ft) long, 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) wide, and 3.65 m (12.0 ft) tall without a pantograph.[1] Meanwhile, the newly-formed Japan Transport Engineering Company introduced the sustina platform at InnoTrans 2012. This was shortly after Tokyu Car was reorganized and renamed as a result of its acquisition by the East Japan Railway Company. Its main distinction from other commuter train families is that the trainsets are constructed with lightweight stainless steel manufacturing technology patented by J-TREC.[8]

The National Economic and Development Authority has then required all new railroad projects to use standard-gauge track in 2016.[9] The North–South Commuter Railway, successor to the Manila–Clark rapid railway and Northrail projects, was announced the following year as a mostly elevated mainline.[10] The Department of Transportation (DOTr) then announced the order of 104 electric railcars from the Japan Transport Engineering Company (J-TREC) on July 16, 2019, equivalent to thirteen 8-car trainsets.[11][12] An additional order for 360 EMUs has been underway comprising an additional 304 commuter trains as well as 56 airport express trains.[13]

The bogies will be different from the DT and TR series used in Japan due to a difference in track gauges. One of the bogies appear to carry the serial number B15C according to images obtained by the Philippine Railway Historical Society.[14]

During the design stage, the trainsets were set to use American Tightlock coupling (Type H) according to design documents.[18][20] It was later changed to Shibata coupling after the first trainset was unveiled.[14]

The trains will use 1,500 volt direct current (DC) power through overhead lines, making the electrification system standards the same as Japan. All motor cars will have a single-arm pantograph in each car. While the main source of traction are variable-voltage/variable-frequency drive (VVVF) motors activated by the pantograph, batteries and auxiliary power consisting of AC motors will also be used to power the train's lighting and controls as well as allowances for moving slowly (at c. 30 km/h (19 mph)) in case of an emergency before coming to a complete stop. The electrical components are required to be tropicalized and would have insulation requirements following IEC 60085 Thermal class 200 specifications. The acceleration is set at 3.3 km/h (2.1 mph) per second, while service braking deceleration is at 4.2 km/h (2.6 mph) per second and emergency braking deceleration is at 4.7 km/h (2.9 mph) per second.[20]

The trains will adopt ETCS Level 2 for signalling and train control which combines Eurobalise with the GSM-R communication system. Although the adoption of ETCS will allow the NSCR to operate at 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph) under heavy traffic, the commuter trains themselves are limited to a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph). Allowances have been considered for the future adoption of automatic train operation (ATO). Lastly, station platforms will have platform screen doors which will only open after the train doors do the same for safe boarding. Boarding time on the trainsets will be limited to 30 seconds.[20]

The ETCS equipment packages first underwent a non-competitive bidding as procurement and direct contracting. Hitachi Rail STS, an Italy-based subsidiary of Japanese manufacturer Hitachi and formerly Ansaldo STS, was the sole known bidder.[21] Two consortiums participated on a new bid opening on November 26, 2021. The first is Japanese firm Mitsubishi, with Alstom as its ETCS quipment supplier. On the other hand, Sojitz's supplier remains unknown.[22]

The design capacity for an 8-car trainset is 2,266 passengers with 2,242 being regular seats and standees and another 24 wheelchair spaces. Meanwhile, a future expanded 10-car variant will have 2,656 standing and regular seated passengers. Seating capacity will be different for lead and intermediate cars. Lead cars at each end of the train will have 211 standing passengers, 45 seated and 3 wheelchair spaces for a total of 269 passengers per car. Meanwhile, intermediate cars will have 231 standing, 54 seated and 3 wheelchair spaces for a total of 288 passengers per car. All seats will be of a single class and there will be no Green Class-style bilevel cars used by its Japanese counterparts.[18] There shall be provisions for priority seating and wheelchair space on the train per Japanese standards. However, unlike the Airport Express trains, there are no toilets on board.[20]

Each car also has eight electrically-driven bi-parting pocket doors. For end cars, an additional pair of single-type pocket doors will be installed on the car cabs.

The following are the definitions of the three-letter designation system.[1]

• L refers to the lead car or control car. The Japanese equivalent for this type is KuHa.
• M refers to a powered intermediate car. According to bidding documents, all motor cars have its own pantograph. Its Japanese equivalent is MoHa.
• T refers to an unpowered intermediate (trailer) car. Its Japanese equivalent is SaHa.