Following are a few more photos from a trip to Naga City back in 2009. These photos take off from a previous posting where I featured the tracks of the PNR’s Main Line South, mainly what a traveler may see along the national highway en route to Naga City. Many of these tracks were not being used by any trains at the time due to a suspension of services after an incident a few years back when a Bicol Express train was derailed somewhere in Quezon. Most of the tracks one will see here have already been rehabilitated as the PNR has resumed the service between Manila and Naga City. In fact, they have taken advantage of the long weekend for All Saints’ Day (Undas) to promote the Bicol Express service that now features sleeping cars. The approximate travel time between Manila and Naga is 12 hours.

A railway bridge in Naga City – note the classic steel truss design that was the mainstay of most PNR bridges.

Another steel truss bridge – this one I photographed prior to the provincial boundary with Quezon province.

Rail junction along the national highway – this junction is located in the town of Gumaca. The signs are already obscured by tree branches and electric poles. At the time, one could see the state of neglect for the tracks as they are practically covered by dirt that transforms into mud during rainy days.

The railway tracks parallel to a barangay road – many sections again appear to be covered by dirt and growth. A tricycle is parked atop the tracks, probably waiting for passengers on space that is being used as a shoulder with respect to the local road. As communities have access to local roads, there are no trolleys here.

Neglected railway tracks – note the grass growing along the tracks and covering the rails. Also, from the looks of it some ties seem to be missing or just buried in the dirt. Many houses and shanties are obviously within the 30m ROW of the PNR. Such situations create a high risk for untoward incidents should rail services become regular and more frequent.

Traveling to and from the Bicol region back in 2009, I tried to trace the PNR’s Main Line South railway tracks that passed through the provinces of Quezon and Camarines Sur. Following are a few snapshots while traveling on-board our trusty Pajero. I don’t remember the towns where I took the photos mainly because I didn’t keep tabs about the info. However, I’m sure these can be retraced and recorded in another, future trip to Bicol. I hope readers don’t mind the reflections in some of the photos due mainly to our vehicle’s window tint.

Railway tracks along a barrio in Quezon – while the rails are there, it seems many of the ties (sleepers) are either missing or already covered in soil. Note the houses that have encroached on the PNR ROW? They are well within the 30 meter ROW of the PNR tracks and will surely be affected should there be capacity expansion (read: double tracks) in the future.

Tracks embedded on the national highway – while the old signs are still present in some junctions with roads, most are either unreadable because of wear or hidden among the posts and flora. These, too, need upgrading and should already include traffic signals and barriers to warn road traffic of an approaching train.

The switch assembly on the right indicates diverging tracks probably in the vicinity of a station somewhere downstream from where I hurriedly took a photo.

Railway tracks seemingly diverging from the highway – in this case, the photo strongly suggests the absence of ties to hold the tracks and prevent derailment. Much of what’s left of both MLS and MLN are in this condition and in the case of MLS requires intense rehabilitation to ensure the safety of travel. I can only imagine how trains should slow down during the wet season when the soil turns to mud in many sections.

The signs are not so noticeable especially when motorists are driving quite fast along roads with very good pavements. I don’t think the railway signs comply with current standards of reflectivity and are already partly hidden from effective view by the trees and structures along the roadside. The tracks just ahead and crossing the highway are almost hidden due to the highway pavement. Asphalt overlays may tend to cover rails that are embedded on the highway.

My first look at the motorized trolleys of Quezon – this photo shows what seems to be a terminal for two type of paratransit: the road-based tricycle (left) and the rail-based trolley (right). Being a convergence point for passengers, there are stores and eateries in the area. Note again the condition of the tracks where the wooden ties are still visible.

The photo above is my last snapshot of the railways prior to us using the bypass road on our way to Naga City. We also encountered heavy rains that prevented me from taking more photos during our drive. Thus, I was only able to take some more snapshots when we were already in Naga City.

Rail crossing in Naga City – the signs again are obscured by other structures along the road. There are practically no safety devices at the time that could prevent crashes involving trains. Of course, at the time, the train service to Bicol were still suspended so there were none that could have had conflicts with road-based traffic.

Railway tracks in Naga City – the tracks here seem to be in good condition despite the suspension of train services at the time. Noticeable too is the fact that while there is clearly encroachment on the PNR ROW, the houses have at least some space between them and the tracks unlike the case of Manila. Note that in the Bicol region, the PNR uses a single track rather than a double track system. Future capacity expansion (and I’m crossing my fingers here) would require a double track system to permit increased two way traffic once the trains regain popularity.

Next: the trolleys of Naga City

In a previous post, I talked about the recent developments concerning the PNR and provided an historical perspective of railway development in Luzon Island, particularly focusing on the Main Line North and its branches. The MLN, of course, is no longer operating with proverbial nail in the coffin hammered by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, when lahar buried much of what was left of the lines in Pangasinan, Tarlac and Pampanga. Various initiatives have been put forward since the 1990’s to revive a portion of the MLN but in the form of a rail service connecting Clark with Manila. This is the Northrail project that has seen so much anticipation because of its promise of finally reviving railways for Central Luzon by providing access to what is being touted as the future main international airport at Clark, the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). The continuing saga concerning what seems to be a struggle in putting up Northrail is certainly worth another post. Meanwhile, we focus on the Main Line South for today’s feature. The figure below illustrates the extent of the MLS, significant sections of which have been rehabilitated.

The PNR Main Line South (Source: PNR)

The MLS was constructed starting in the early 1900’s and can be quite tricky to establish given that many refer to it also by another familiar name: the “Bicol Express.” The invention of the latter term though was only applicable from 1938 when the first trains finally traversed the entire stretch from Manila to Legaspi, Albay. Construction for the southern line and its branches started in Manila and included the rail developments in Batangas, Cavite and Laguna that was later extended all the way to Aloneros in Guinayangan, Quezon. From here, it finally linked up with a line that started construction in Legaspi and proceeded northwards along the Bicol region until Ragay, Camarines Sur. (Reference: Corpuz, 1999 and PNR)

• The Main Line South started from Manila and covers practically the same route as today’s commuter and Bicol line all the way to Quezon and the Bicol Region. Construction started from two points representing the end stations of Manila and Legaspi with the northern segment terminating at Aloneros (Guinayangan, Quezon) and the southern segment at Ragay, Camarines Sur. The gap was eventually connected through Tagkawaya, Quezon in 1938.
• The Cavite Line ran from Manila to Naic via Paranaque and Bacoor for a total of 44 km, and was completed in 1908. The line was eventually abandoned in 1936.
• The Canlubang Branch is 7 km and emanated from what is currently the commuter line from Mamatid in Cabuyao, Laguna. It was completed in 1909.
• The Santa Cruz Branch started from Calamba and extended to Sta. Cruz and terminated at Pagsanjan, Laguna for a total of 46 km. Completed in 1912, continued contruction towards the towns of Rizal could have realized a railway line connecting the coastal towns of Laguna De Bay.
• The Batangas Branch is a 43 km network from Luta in what is now Malvar, Batangas to Bauan via Lipa and Batangas City. Completed in 1912, the Batangas-Bauan segment was abandoned in 1936.