President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced on Monday (April 20) that the Philippine National Railways (PNR) is expected to resume train travel between Manila and Bicol region before the end of the year. The President said she was informed by PNR General Manager Manuel Andal that the rehabilitation of the Manila-Bicol-PNR line would be completed before the end of 2009 paving the resumption of the train service between the two points.

Legazpi Train Station | Photo by Yves Eli Yu

She added that PNR has already started fast-tracking the repair and upgrading of stations of the southbound train in March while the rehabilitation of the railroad tracks would start by May. Last month, Andal stated that some P500 million had already been released to the PNR out of the P1.8 billion budget for the repair works of the Tagkawayan-Bicol stretch. He said that once the ongoing rehabilitation works of the rail tracks from Tagkawayan, Quezon to Guinobatan, Albay have been completed, a commuter train will start running to provide fast, convenient, and cheaper transport service to residents of the railroad towns in the provinces of Quezon, Camarines Sur and Albay.

PNR totally stopped its Manila-Bicol-Manila service for more than two years due to heavy damage wrought by super typhoons “Milenyo” and “Reming” to substantial portions of its tracks starting from Calamba City in Laguna up to Legazpi City in Albay. The President further stressed that the Arroyo administration is committed to modernize infrastructure to spur economic development in the countryside.

The restoration, rehabilitation and modernization of the existing lines of the PNR is envisioned to be the key to the development of Central and Southern Luzon as it is expected to provide effective and efficient means of transportation to and from Metro Manila and the provinces in Northern and Southern Luzon.

When completed, the railway rehabilitation project will lead to the resumption of the long-distance train services between Metro Manila and the Bicol Region up to Matnog in Sorsogon. The line will eventually link Luzon to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway System. She hinted reviving the Bicol train would help boost the economy as it would bring freight from Bicol to Manila and vice versa and the rehabilitation of the railway line would benefit some 20,000 passengers daily.

“The movement of more passengers and commodities by rail will further strengthen the economic ties of Manila to the production centers of the South. The economy and people of Bicol will surely benefit from this very positive development,” she added. “By the time of the Peñafrancia fiesta on September, this year, commuter train travel between Iriga City, Camarines Sur and Tagkawayan, Quezon will already be in place,” the President said.

Article by MA Loterte, Philippine Information Agency