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Rail transportation in the Philippines is currently used mostly to transport passengers within
Metro Manila and provinces of
Laguna and
Quezon, as well as a commuter service in the
Bicol Region.
Freight transport services once operated in the country, but these services were halted. However, there are plans to restore old freight services and build new lines.[3][4] From a peak of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi),[5] the country currently has a railway footprint of 533.14 kilometers (331.28 mi), of which only 129.85 kilometers (80.69 mi) are operational as of 2024, including all the urban rail lines.
World War II, natural calamities, underspending, and neglect have all contributed to the decline of the Philippine railway network.[6] In the 2019
Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines has the lowest efficiency score among other Asian countries in terms of efficiency of train services, receiving a score of 2.4, and ranking 86th out of 101 countries globally.[7] The government is currently expanding the railway network up to 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) by 2022 through numerous projects.[8][9][5]
The Philippine railway network consists of two commuter lines provided by the
Philippine National Railways (PNR) and three urban mass transit lines operated by the
Light Rail Transit Authority and
Metro Rail Transit Corporation, all of which are located in Luzon. Within the last century, there were operating
intercity rail lines extending from Manila both north and south operated by PNR. There were also lines on the
Panay and
Cebu islands, operated by
Panay Railways, which currently does not own rolling stock or rail, only property. There were also short industrial railways in
Negros Island operated by sugar mills such as the Hawaiian-Philippines Company.[10]
There has been rail transport in the
Philippines for over 120 years.[11] On June 25, 1875, King
Alfonso XII of Spain promulgated a Royal Decree directing the Office of the Inspector of Public Works of the Philippines to submit a general plan for railroads on Luzon.[12] The plan, which was submitted five months later by Don Eduardo Lopez Navarro, was entitled Memoria Sobre el Plan General de Ferrocarriles en la Isla de Luzón, and was promptly approved. A concession for the construction of a railway line from
Manila to
Dagupan was granted to Don Edmundo Sykes of the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan on June 1, 1887.[13] The construction and running of the railway was done by Manila Railway Company Ltd that was a British owned company.[14] The first rail tracks were laid in 1891 and its first commercial run was in 1892.[13]
With the American takeover of the Philippines, the
Philippine Commission allowed the
Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (Meralco) to take over the properties of the Compañia de los Tranvias de Filipinas,[15] with the first of twelve mandated electric
tranvia (tram) lines operated by Meralco opening in Manila in 1905.[16] At the end of the first year around 63 kilometers (39 mi) of track had been laid.[17] A five-year reconstruction program was initiated in 1920, and by 1924, 170 cars serviced many parts of the city and its outskirts.[17] Although it was an efficient system for the city's 220,000 inhabitants, by the 1930s the streetcar network had stopped expanding.[16][17][18]
In 1936, the first
standard-gauge railway was introduced to the Philippines in the form of two
Climax locomotives for the Dahican Lumber Company (DALCO). These were originally built in 1917 for the
San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad in California and were sold after their closure in 1933.[19] In July 1941, a 3T type Shay locomotive was also acquired from the
Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company. The status of this short-line railroad after the war remains unknown.[20]
Most of the improvements on the rail network were destroyed during
Japanese invasion of the Philippines during the
World War II. Of the more than a thousand route-kilometers before the war, only 452 were operational after it. For several years after the war, work was undertaken on what could be salvaged of the railroad system.[21] By the war's end, the tram network was also damaged beyond repair amid a city that lay in ruins. It was dismantled and
jeepneys became the city's primary form of transportation, plying the routes once served by the tram lines.[16] With the return of buses and cars to the streets, traffic congestion became a problem.
In 1966, the Philippine government granted a franchise to Philippine Monorail Transport Systems (PMTS) for the operation of an inner-city
monorail.[22] The monorail's feasibility was still being evaluated when the government asked the
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to conduct a separate transport study.[18] Prepared between 1971 and 1973, the JICA study proposed a series of circumferential and radial roads, an inner-city rapid transit system, a commuter railway, and an expressway with three branches.[18] After further examination, many recommendations were adopted; however, none of them involved rapid transit and the monorail was never built. PMTS' franchise subsequently expired in 1974.[23] Another study was performed between 1976 and 1977, this time by
Freeman Fox and Associates and funded by the
World Bank. It originally suggested a street-level railway, but its recommendations were revised by the newly formed Ministry of Transportation and Communications (now the
DOTr). The ministry instead called for an elevated system because of the city's many intersections.[16]
Introduction of rapid transit
President
Marcos created the
Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) in 1980. The first lady
Imelda Marcos, then governor of Metro Manila and minister of human settlements, became its first chairman. Construction of LRT Line 1 started in September 1981, test-run in March 1984, and the first half of the line from Baclaran to Central Terminal opened on December 1, 1984. The second half, from Central Terminal to Monumento, opened on May 12, 1985. Overcrowding and poor maintenance took its toll a few years after opening. With Japan's
ODA amounting to 75 billion yen in total, the construction of LRT Line 2 began in the 1990s, and the first section of the line, from Santolan to Araneta Center-Cubao, was opened on April 5, 2003.[24] The second section, from Araneta Center-Cubao to
Legarda, was opened exactly a year later, with the entire line being fully operational by October 2004.[25] During that time Line 1 was modernized. Automated fare collection systems using magnetic stripe plastic tickets were installed; air-conditioned trains added; pedestrian walkways between Lines 1, 2, and the privately operated
3 were completed.[26] In 2005, the LRTA made a profit of ₱68 million, the first time the agency made a profit since the Line 1 became operational in 1984.[27]
Rehabilitation
In the early 2000s, the government worked to rehabilitate rail transportation in the country, including the
Philippine National Railways, through various investments and projects.[13][28] Total reconstruction of rail bridges and tracks, including replacement of the current 35-kilogram (77-pound) track with newer 50-kilogram (110-pound) tracks and the refurbishing of stations, were part of the rehabilitation and expansion process. Much of those plans such as the
Northrail Project were controversial and were never completed, due to allegations of being overpriced and anomalous.[29]
MRT Line 3, which deteriorated since 2014 due to poor maintenance,[30] underwent a total rehabilitation from 2019 to 2021, which is intended to restore it to its original state.[31][32]
The current
PNR service is also being expanded, with the
PNR Metro Commuter now servicing
Caloocan and
Malabon.[38][39] PNR is also planning to reintroduce services to the Carmona branch line.[40] New rolling stock was also acquired from
PT INKA in Indonesia.[41]
On May 28, 1906, the
Philippine Commission granted to the Philippine Railway Corporation a concession to construct railways on the islands of Panay,
Negros and Cebu.[44]
Construction began on a railroad from
Iloilo City to
Roxas City in
Capiz with crews working from both cities and meeting in the middle in 1907.[42] Operations began immediately upon completion.[42] In 1985, passenger operations ceased while in 1989 freight operations ceased.[45]
Cebu
The Philippine Railway Company, along with operating the Panay line, operated a line in
Cebu from 1911 to 1942, when operations ceased because of the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II.[46] The line ran from
Danao south through
Cebu City to
Argao.[47] The line was built by the related Philippine Railways Construction Company.[48]
Services
Commuter rail
The Philippines currently has three operational commuter lines: the PNR Metro Commuter Line, located in Metro Manila, the PNR Inter-Provincial Commuter between Laguna and Quezon, and the PNR Bicol Commuter Line, located in the Bicol Region. All of these lines are operated by
Philippine National Railways.
The PNR Metro Commuter line stretches from
Tondo, Manila to the southern and northern edge of
Metro Manila. It links the cities of Manila,
Caloocan,
Malabon,
Makati,
Taguig,
Parañaque and
Muntinlupa and the province of
Laguna.[49] Currently, there are 31 railway stations, with more stations planned to be reopened in the future.[40] The current line is colored orange on most maps.
The Inter-Provincial Commuter is a 44-kilometer (27 mi) commuter and regional rail service between San Pablo, Laguna and Lucena, Quezon. It has been proposed as part of the PNR South Long Haul project in 2019. The service had its first trial run on February 14, 2022, and was reopened on June 26.[50]
Bicol Commuter
The Bicol Commuter service is a
commuter rail service in the Bicol Region, between stations in
Tagkawayan, Quezon, and
Legazpi, Albay, with
Naga in
Camarines Sur acting as a central terminal. It has three services: Tagkawayan-Naga (suspended), Sipocot-Naga (operational), and Naga-Legazpi (operational)
The service was first launched on September 16, 2009 as Tagkawayan-Naga and Naga-Ligao.[51] The trains were planned to make seven trips a day, alternating between Tagkawayan,
Sipocot, Naga City and Legazpi. All services used
KiHa 52 in revised blue livery.
However after further reductions, only the service between Sipocot and Naga was operating by December 2013.[52] Service resumed between Naga and Legazpi on September 18, 2015, with one train a day.[53] However, services were again cut in April 2017 due to an absence of rolling stock, which was worsened by a succession of typhoons that damaged railroads in the Bicol region.[54]
Definitive plans to restore the entire route from Sipocot, Naga and Legazpi were bared with an inspection trip from Tutuban on September 20, 2019, with a rerailment crew, including certain areas of Quezon Province, in preparation of the restoration of more routes previously suspended.[55]
First to be restored was the operation of the Naga-Sipocot segment of the Bicol Commuter service in 2022. On the 31th of July 2022, the PNR resumed operations between Ligao and Naga, with two daily trips in service. The Naga–Legazpi route was reopened on December 27, 2023, six years after its suspension in April 2017 due to insufficient trains.[56]
As of 2024[update], the train used for the Naga-Legazpi Route is the
8300 class coaches pulled by a
INKA CC300 locomotive. While the
8000 class DMU is used in the Naga - Sipocot Line.
There are two rapid transit systems operating in the country: the Manila Light Rail Transit System, and the Manila Metro Rail System, both serving passengers in Metro Manila. Many passengers who ride the systems also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to and from a station to reach their intended destination.[57]Beep, a
contactless smart card, is used to pay fares for the lines.
Although the system is referred to as a "
light rail" system, arguably because the network is mostly elevated, the system is more akin to a
rapid transit (metro) system in European-North American terms. The Manila LRT system is the first metro system in
Southeast Asia, earlier than the
Singapore MRT by three years.[58]
Its 33 stations along over 37.24 kilometers (23.14 mi) of mostly elevated track form two lines. LRT Line 1, opened in 1984, travels a north–south route. LRT Line 2, opened in 2003, travels along an east–west route. All of the stations of LRT lines 1 and 2 are elevated, except for the
Katipunan station (which is underground).[59]
The system is not related to the
MRT, or the Yellow Line, which forms a completely different but linked system.
The Metro Rail Transit (MRT) is the second
rapid transit system serving
Metro Manila in the
Philippines. It originally began as a single line (
MRT Line 3) that was first opened in 1999 and became fully operational by the year 2000. The MRT branding is currently associated with rapid transit lines in Metro Manila not under the jurisdiction of the LRTA, including lines 7 and 9, although the three lines will have different operators.
The system currently has 13 stations along 16.9 kilometers (10.5 mi) of mostly elevated track in an orbital north–south route. MRT Line 3, the first line in the system, opened in 1999.
The Light Rail Transit Authority, founded in 1981,[62] is the owner of the Manila LRT system. It was the operator of LRT Line 1 and the current operator of LRT Line 2.[63]
A private consortium of seven companies, Metro Rail Transit Corporation is owner and operator of Line 3 under a
Build–operate–transfer agreement with the Department of Transportation. It was formed in 1995.[66]
Other
Panay Railways: a government owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines, the company previously operated services on the Panay and Cebu islands. Panay Railways currently does not own rail and rolling stock, only properties.[10]
SMC-Mass Rail Transit 7: previously known as the Universal LRT Corporation, the company will be the owner and operator of MRT Line 7 upon completion, under a
build–operate–transfer agreement with the Department of Transportation. It is a subsidiary of
San Miguel Corporation.[67]
The North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR), is a 147 km (91 mi) railway being constructed in
Luzon.[68][69][70] Partial operations will begin by 2026,[71] and full operations is expected to begin by 2029.[72]
The Metro Manila Subway (MMS)[78] is an underground rapid transit line currently under construction in
Metro Manila, Philippines. The 36-kilometer (22 mi) line, which will run north–south between
Valenzuela City,
Quezon City,
Pasig,
Makati,
Taguig, and
Pasay, consists of 15 stations between the
Quirino Highway and
FTI stations.
The Makati Intra-city Subway is an 11-kilometer (6.8 mi)[79] under-construction underground
rapid transit line to be located in
Makati,
Metro Manila, that will link establishments across the city's business district. It will be built under a public-private partnership program between the Makati city government and a private consortium, led by Philippine Infradev Holdings. The subway was expected to begin construction by December 2020, and
Makati MayorAbigail Binay projects completion by the year 2025.[80] On June 20, 2018, IRC Properties Inc. and its Chinese partners secured an ‘original proponent status’ from the city government of Makati for the proposed $3.7-billion Makati intra-city rail transport system.[81][82] The subway will cost $3.7 billion (or ₱192 billion) and is expected to accommodate 700,000 passengers daily.[83][84] It will also have ten stations, with connections to the existing
Line 3, the
Pasig River Ferry Service, and the approved
Line 9 (Metro Manila Subway).[79][81]
The
Department of Science and Technology has commenced a project to develop a locally designed and manufactured Automated Guideway Transit System.
Bicutan AGT — Originally one of the two proposed
AGT lines, the other being the cancelled
UP Diliman AGT. It will follow the alignment of General Santos Avenue and C-6 road in southern
Taguig, connecting the offices of
DOST and nearby areas.
Monorail
Baguio Monorail — A 4-km elevated monorail with 8 stations around the central business area will be funded by Metro Global Holdings Corporation through a public-private partnership.[85][86]
Davao People Mover — A 28-kilometer monorail project has been endorsed by the City Government of Davao to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Philippine National Railways (PNR).[87]
Iloilo Monorail — BYD, a Shenzhen-based company conducted a two-month feasibility study to construct a monorail in Iloilo. The first phase of the 20-kilometer (12-mile) system was expected to start operations by 2019.[88][89] This project was shelved after 2018.
SkyTrain (Metro Manila) — The construction of the SkyTrain is projected to cost ₱3.5 billion and is yet to commence.[90][91][92] Infracorp will construct the monorail line for two years and planned to make the SkyTrain operational by the end of 2021. Infracorp aimed to commence Groundbreaking in Late 2020, but not update has been given as of December 7, 2020.[90] The Monorail is also set to connect to the
Makati Intra-city Subway,
MRT 3 Guadalupe, and the
Pasig River Ferry Service.[93]
Cebu Monorail — Previously the Cebu LRT,[94] the system will have two lines. One will be Central Line passing through downtown Cebu and its neighboring areas, and the Airport Line heading towards
Mactan–Cebu International Airport.[95] It is set to open before the end of 2021.[96]
Pasay Monorail — A 1.89 km monorail that will connect with MRT-3 Taft Station and LRT-1 EDSA Station to
SM Mall of Asia.[97]
Pasig City Transit Express — A 16.35 kilometer monorail that connects within the urban of
Pasig City.[98]
Light rail
LRT Line 6 — A proposed rapid transit line in Cavite that will connect with LRT Line 1 in Bacoor and end at Dasmariñas. The project is indefinitely shelved by the national government due to space constraints along Aguinaldo Highway where it will be routed, but a private firm has presented an unsolicited proposal that modifies the alignment so to follow Bacoor Boulevard and Molino-Paliparan Road, and include 4 branches serving southern Metro Manila.[99]
MRT 10 — The project will be approximately 22.5 kilometers and a mostly elevated Light Railway Transit (LRT) System consisting of sixteen (16) stations along circumferential road C-5 connecting the Ninoy Aquino Terminal Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to Quezon City, terminating at Commonwealth Avenue with possible interchange with MRT7 at Tandang Sora Station and LRT Line 2 at Aurora Station. Trains will be stabled at the depot to be built at the UP property in Diliman, Quezon City.[100][101][102]
Pampanga Mass Transit System — An LRT system is proposed for the Center Line of the Pampanga Mass Transit System, having been originally proposed in 2018. It will be served by feeder
bus rapid transit lines.[103]
Cagayan de Oro Metropolitan Railway – A proposed railway system that will located on Northern Mindanao and CARAGA Regions. It has 2 phases, one of them will connect the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Butuan.
Heavy rail
MRT Line 4 — Initially proposed as a "heavy monorail" line,[105] the line has been revised to heavy rail in September 2022.[106]
MRT 11 — The project involves the construction of an approximately 18 kilometers Metro Railway Transit System (MRTS) of elevated structure starting from Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Balintawak in Quezon City traversing along Quirino Highway, Novaliches and Zabarte Road in north Caloocan up to Barangay Gaya-gaya in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. A passenger transfer facility shall be provided proximate to the EDSA-Balintawak station of LRT Line 1 and the MRT 11 Balintawak station.[100][109]
Commuter rail
The PNR Northeast Commuter Line or Cabanatuan–Makati line is a proposed reconstruction of the Balagtas–Cabanatuan branch of the North Main Line. It will branch off the northern half of the North–South Commuter Railway at
Balagtas station in
Bulacan. Once completed, it will become one of the three major
commuter rail corridors in the Greater Capital Region, which consists of the NSCR and the intercity section of the South Main Line. It will connect
Nueva Ecija and eastern Bulacan with
Makati City in southern Metro Manila.[110] There is also a proposed extension to
San Jose, sealing a loop with the NSCR North Phase 4 between
Tarlac City in
Tarlac and San Jose.[111]
The Cavite–Laguna Railway is a rail line connecting the two provinces neighboring
Metro Manila to the south, Cavite and Laguna.[112]
Intercity rail
The PNR South Long Haul project will involve the reconstruction of the old
South Main Line and its branch to Batangas City, both as unelectrified standard-gauge lines initially to operate on single-track configuration. It will be funded by the Chinese government. The line is set to be partially operational by 2022.[113]
The North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway, simply known as the North Long Haul and previously known as the North Long Haul West[117] is the planned
long-distance rail system between Manila and northern Luzon.[118][119] The project is divided into four phases: Phase 1 will be the overhaul of the old
PNR North Main Line from Manila to
Poro PointFreeport Zone in
San Fernando, La Union; Phase 2 will cover the old line's reconstruction to
Bacnotan and its extension to
Vigan; Phase 3 will be from Vigan to
Laoag; and Phase 4 is the Northeast Long Haul line to the
Cagayan Valley.[120]
The Northeast Long Haul line,[118] previously the North Long Haul East[117] is the Phase 4 of the North Long Haul project as well as the latest plan to connect the Cagayan Valley to the rest of Luzon by rail,[121] a project in its planning stages since 1875.[122] If it follows the original 1962 plans, its most notable feature is a 10 km (6.2 mi) railway tunnel, the longest of its kind in the country and would be the highest point in the entire PNR system.[123] There is also a planned extension to
Aparri, as well as connecting the two main lines through a series of rail lines passing the
Cordillera Administrative Region.[124]
The Philippine National Railways is interested in constructing a train network in the
Visayas, to be known as the Visayas Railway, although no formal proposals have been made. On its
vision statement, the PNR aims to become a transnational railroad operator covering all three major island groups in the country including the
Visayas.[125] Since 2016, two House Bills were sponsored for the reorganization of the PNR into three
government-owned and controlled corporations, one of them being the Visayas Railway Corporation (VRC).[126][127]
The
Panay Railways aims to rebuild its network as a loop line around
Panay island. Initially a 117 km (73 mi) segment will be built between
Iloilo City and
Roxas, Capiz. The segment is estimated to cost US$1.5 billion. Planned extensions include a segment to
Malay, Aklan and towards
Antique before completing the loop in Iloilo City.[128]
The Samar–Leyte rail project aims to construct a network in the islands of
Samar and
Leyte. This proposal was announced during the 4th Philippine Railway Summit on October 26, 2022.[112]
Freight rail
The Subic–Clark Railway will be part of the PNR Luzon system development. Initially a freight railway, the line will connect
Clark and
New Clark City to
Subic, forming a connected logistics hub in Central Luzon.[129]
Manila–Laguna freight revival – The Department of Transportation said it plans to revive the operation of a container cargo rail from Port Area in Manila to Laguna province.[3] The tracks towards the berths of Manila International Container Terminal and Manila North Harbor to Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal in Calamba, Laguna will be revived to restart the container cargo service.[3]
North Philippine Dry Port Container Rail Transport Service shall connect freight trains from the
Port of Manila to an inland terminal in
Balagtas, Bulacan.[130]
^
abcdeOperational length. With the completion of the
NSCR, another 147 km (91 mi) of electrified double-track will be added.
^
abcdeDoes not include MRT and LRT lines under construction.
^Around 2,860 km (1,780 mi) of standard-gauge tracks will be built for the North–South Commuter Railway, PNR South Main Line, Mindanao Railway and Clark–Subic freight line.
^
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^
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"History of Meralco". Meralco company website. Archived from
the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
^De Guzman, Kristine.
"DOTC chief shrugs off Senate report on MRT3".
CNN Philippines. Archived from
the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016. The report described what commuters put up with every day — the lack of coaches, poor maintenance of trains and platform facilities, and deteriorating rails..
^Angelo, Francis Allan L. (October 30, 2005).
"PANAY RAILWAY REHAB NEXT YEAR". The Daily Guardian.
Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
^"Ang kasaysayan ng Panay Railways Incorporated". Department of Trade and Communication via the Philippine Railways Blog (an advocacy website). June 5, 2012.
Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
^Escandor Jr., Juan; Caudilla, Pons (September 18, 2009).
"Bicol train chugs to a halt in test run". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Manila. Archived from
the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010. The spirit was willing, but the diesel-fed old engines were not.
^Camus, Miguel R. (January 17, 2020).
"MRT 7 now over 50% complete". business.inquirer.net.
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^Corpuz, Arturo (1989). Railroad and Regional Development in the Philippines: View From the Colonial Iron Horse, 1875–1935. Cornell University.
ISBN9789715422208.