Everything about Philippine National Railways totally explained
Philippine National Railways, also known by its acronym,
PNR, is a state-owned
railway system in the
Philippines, organized under the
Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as an attached agency. Established during the
Spanish colonial period, the modern PNR was developed only in 1984. It currently operates around 479
kilometres of track on the island of
Luzon, where most Philippine rail infrastructure is located. Because of this, PNR has become synonymous with the Philippine rail system.
A portion of the PNR network, specifically the
Metro Manila portion of the network, is part of the
Strong Republic Transit System (SRTS), and overall
public transport system in the metropolis. It forms the backbone of all of Metro Manila's
regional rail services, which extend to its suburbs and to provinces such as
Laguna. However, other than reducing growing
traffic congestion due to the rising number of motor vehicles in Metro Manila, PNR also aims to link key cities within in the Philippines efficiently and to serve as an instrument in national socio-economic development. However, the meeting of that goal has been beset with problems regarding degraded infrastructure and a lack of government funding, PNR trains can only run up to 50 km/h.
History
Philippine National Railways, and the history of rail transport in the Philippines in general, has a very long and distinguished history. On
June 25,
1875, by virtue of a decree issued by
King Alfonso XII, the Inspector of Public Works of the Philippine Islands was requested to submit a general plan regarding a railway system on the island of Luzon. started construction on
June 31,
1887, with the laying of the cornerstone of what would be
Tutuban station. The line, 195
kilometers long, opened on
November 24,
1892. By the time the Manila-Dagupan railroad commenced operations, the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan became the Manila Railway Company, or MRC.
Major floods in 1973 forced the closure of part of Northrail, Current efforts will involve the total reconstruction of rail bridges, as well as the replacement of rail track, replacing the current 35-kilogram track with newer 50-kilogram ones.
So far,
South Korea and the
People's Republic of China have offered to help restore Philippine railway services, with the former assisting with the rehabilitation and modernization of Southrail, and the latter helping to finance, build, and operate a rationalized Northrail service, as well as helping to rehabilitate and modernize Southrail as well. The Korean-funded portion covers the section of Southrail from Manila to Calamba, although present funding only covers the section of Southrail from
Caloocan City to
Muntinlupa City, which also serves as the Northrail-Southrail connection. The Chinese-funded portion covers the section from Calamba to Legazpi and further on to
Matnog,
Sorsogon. The Korean-funded Southrail project was originally expected to cost some 50 million
US dollars but now costs around 70-100 million dollars. Construction began in early November 2006.
Congress has lately passed a bill to restore, rehabilitate, and modernize old existing lines, and extend lines northwards to
Tuguegarao City in
Cagayan and to
Laoag City in
Ilocos Norte, and the restoration of the two-line Panay Railway,
Further Information
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